Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091123/ap_on_he_me/eu_belgium_coma_recovery

BRUSSELS – A mother says her son has emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state to say he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed.


Rom Houben had a car crash in 1983 and doctors thought he had sunk into an apparent coma. Still, his family continued to believe their son was conscious and had sought further medical advice.


Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse said Houben's mother finally met Belgian expert Steven Laureys, who realized that the medical diagnosis for her son was wrong. Laureys then taught Houben how to communicate through a special keyboard.
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Man, I can't even imagine going through that. It's insane.
 
That's almost as bad as being buried alive.

If that were me, there would be some point where I would try to kill myself during those 23 years.
 
Which makes me wonder about that woman a couple of years back who was in a vegetative state and was all over the news and they chose to pull the plug on her. What if she was hearing everything. Hearing them discuss possibly pulling the plug on her and then having to sit there knowing they're about to do it.
 
thats the stuff of nightmares. makes you wonder if he saw or heard things he shouldnt have maybe bedside confessions.
 
Reminds me of the story I saw on tv (not even sure if it was a movie, or whatever) about the dude who was about to undero an autopsy because they thought he had a heart attack while playing golf.

It turns out that he was bitten by a venomous snake when he reached into his golf bag, and had been completely paralyzed.
 
[quote name='shieryda']Reminds me of the story I saw on tv (not even sure if it was a movie, or whatever) about the dude who was about to undero an autopsy because they thought he had a heart attack while playing golf.

It turns out that he was bitten by a venomous snake when he reached into his golf bag, and had been completely paralyzed.[/QUOTE]

That was one of those Stephen King short films that they were airing on TV. It was like a series of them.
 
[quote name='darthbudge']That was one of those Stephen King short films that they were airing on TV. It was like a series of them.[/QUOTE]

"Nightmares and Dreamscapes"?
 
It reminds me of that episode of House where I think Mos Def was a guest star. Honestly, I hope no one will ever have to experience this
 
[quote name='Cracka']Which makes me wonder about that woman a couple of years back who was in a vegetative state and was all over the news and they chose to pull the plug on her. What if she was hearing everything. Hearing them discuss possibly pulling the plug on her and then having to sit there knowing they're about to do it.[/QUOTE]

That was Terri Schiavo.
 
Whats that older horror flick (Alfred h. maybe) where the guy was paralyzed and they thought he was dead and were going to do an autopsy or something.. the whole story revolved around his conscious and he was thinking, "Cant you see me I am moving my finger look".

That would be crazy and probably happens a lot more than people may realize.


*edit, I guess so:

about four out of ten patients with consciousness disorders are wrongly diagnosed as being a vegetative state
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looks like the PET scan may be an option if this happens.


So does anyone know if he is still communication with this keyboard or if he is recovered?
 
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[quote name='Link927']It reminds me of that episode of House where I think Mos Def was a guest star. Honestly, I hope no one will ever have to experience this[/QUOTE] I thought of the same thing.
 
Locked-in syndrome sure does sound fun. I'm amazed spending 23 years trapped in his own body didn't induce psychosis.
 
[quote name='Magus8472']Locked-in syndrome sure does sound fun. I'm amazed spending 23 years trapped in his own body didn't induce psychosis.[/QUOTE]

Seriously. Being incapacitated like that should drive you insane.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']Whats that older horror flick (Alfred h. maybe) where the guy was paralyzed and they thought he was dead and were going to do an autopsy or something.. the whole story revolved around his conscious and he was thinking, "Cant you see me I am moving my finger look".

[/QUOTE]

I think that was a tales from the crypt episode.
 
[quote name='Cracka']Which makes me wonder about that woman a couple of years back who was in a vegetative state and was all over the news and they chose to pull the plug on her. What if she was hearing everything. Hearing them discuss possibly pulling the plug on her and then having to sit there knowing they're about to do it.[/QUOTE]

No, her brain was quite fucked. Apparently all they had to do was PET scan this guy to see he was fine.

EDIT: Well, not fine, but, you know, conscious.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']Honestly, being fully paralyzed is my worst fear. If I went through that for 23 years and woke up, I'd be insane.[/QUOTE]
He didn't "wake up". He's got the same level of consciousness now, but the people around him are now aware of it.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']Whats that older horror flick (Alfred h. maybe) where the guy was paralyzed and they thought he was dead and were going to do an autopsy or something.. the whole story revolved around his conscious and he was thinking, "Cant you see me I am moving my finger look".
[/QUOTE]

I remember seeing that, was either a Twilight Zone or Hitchcock since it was B&W
 
[quote name='Rocko']He didn't "wake up". He's got the same level of consciousness now, but the people around him are now aware of it.[/QUOTE]

Oh, OK. Still, I bet you he's insane by now.

EDIT: Nevermind.
 
[quote name='Cracka']Which makes me wonder about that woman a couple of years back who was in a vegetative state and was all over the news and they chose to pull the plug on her. What if she was hearing everything. Hearing them discuss possibly pulling the plug on her and then having to sit there knowing they're about to do it.[/QUOTE]


After a week or so I would probably excited at the prospect of dying.
 
Check out the book "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." It was written by a French magazine publisher that had a stroke causing "locked-in syndrome" and could only communicate through blinking with his left eyelid. Otherwise, he was completely paralyzed and also fully mentally intact. I wouldn't wish this condition on my worst enemy.
 
[quote name='Cracka']Which makes me wonder about that woman a couple of years back who was in a vegetative state and was all over the news and they chose to pull the plug on her. What if she was hearing everything. Hearing them discuss possibly pulling the plug on her and then having to sit there knowing they're about to do it.[/QUOTE]

You mean the Terri Schiavo case? I think that was a little diffrent cause she wasn't in a coma. She was awake, but had perment brain damage which left her in a vegatative state. I'm not sure if she was able to hear or not, but I don't think she could understand anything.
 
Terry Schiavo was a completely different case. Her brain was clearly fried from anoxic brain injury which has an absolutely dismal prognosis. Her CT scans and MRI scans proved there was significant, diffuse brain damage that was irreversible so she clearly was in a persistent vegetative state. Coma from trauma is a bit trickier to gauge as the prognosis is overall better depending on the type of injury. However we don't have the benefit of seeing what his scans looked like aside from results from a PET scan (which by the way is not a routine test and very difficult to get) as how his initial medical team made the diagnosis.
 
Every news agency seems to still be reporting that this is positively true. Little to no mention that it could be the person helping him who is doing the typing.
 
[quote name='darkslime']That's horrible, I would probably kill myself somehow if that happened to me[/QUOTE] If you had the ability to kill yourself, this didn't happen to you.
 
If anyone cares, you can watch Johnny got his Gun (The movie One took it clips from) on netflix instant watch.
 
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