Man trapped in 23 yr 'coma' was conscious the entire time

[Tuffty]

My own personal hell, I get the chills just reading about this:

Rom Houben was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state after a car crash left him totally paralysed.

For the whole time, he was trapped in his own body with no way of letting friends and family know he could hear every word they were saying.

The 46-year-old, who can now tap out computerised messages and read books on a device above his hospital bed, has revealed: "I screamed, but there was nothing to hear.

"All that time I literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt.

"I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me - it was my second birth.

"I want to read, talk with my friends via the computer and enjoy life now people know I am not dead."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091123/twl-man-trapped-in-23-year-coma-was-cons-3fd0ae9.html

[Saburo]

Saw this via Roger Ebert's Twitter feed.  Worst nightmare ever...

[kuro808]

My own personal hell, I get the chills just reading about this:

Rom Houben was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state after a car crash left him totally paralysed.

For the whole time, he was trapped in his own body with no way of letting friends and family know he could hear every word they were saying.

The 46-year-old, who can now tap out computerised messages and read books on a device above his hospital bed, has revealed: "I screamed, but there was nothing to hear.

"All that time I literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt.

"I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me - it was my second birth.

"I want to read, talk with my friends via the computer and enjoy life now people know I am not dead."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091123/twl-man-trapped-in-23-year-coma-was-cons-3fd0ae9.html

very creepy

[shurastriker]

i'm not totaly sure but i read about a case of a man that could do things with the help of his eye or something like that... anyways, this one is different coz they touhgt he was in a coma... well, i wonder what kind of coma was that, i mean he was living thanks to a machine or what.

In any case, i definitely don't want to live like that

[Slack]

Damn.  Reminds me of this book I read in High School, Johnny Got His Gun.

[arun.yothin]

I thought that, too. Well, the movie though.

[Tuffty]

I actually thought of the music video for 'One' by Metallica, which is based off the movie 'Johnny Got His Gun'..which is based off the book

[Stirfry]

 

[kuno_thunder]

Imagine the crazy shit that must have gone through his head. Damn.

[Stirfry]

 

[reina's eyes]

Of course polls don't determine veracity, though the level of skepticism is welcome.

From http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/

"How did they figure out that the poor man was actually alert and mentally competent beneath his deeply damaged exterior? They're using facilitated communication: somebody holds his hand and moves it around to tap out messages on a computer. Look at the fellow, sitting there slack and grimacing and drooling, and the staffer deftly and quickly using his finger to peck out lucid and grammatical sentences. How does anyone fall for this?

"I'd like to see how well Mr Houben communicates when his 'facilitator' is blindfolded, or when he is asked questions about objects in his line of sight but hidden from hers."

[Stirfry]

 

[reina's eyes]

Found via Pharyngula, I might add.

Haha. Cool!

[paihchenko]

well...how can we say..he's no luck..
by the way, this story remind me to
1 litre of tears...sob sob 

[~Dan~]

Of course polls don't determine veracity, though the level of skepticism is welcome.

From http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/

"How did they figure out that the poor man was actually alert and mentally competent beneath his deeply damaged exterior? They're using facilitated communication: somebody holds his hand and moves it around to tap out messages on a computer. Look at the fellow, sitting there slack and grimacing and drooling, and the staffer deftly and quickly using his finger to peck out lucid and grammatical sentences. How does anyone fall for this?

"I'd like to see how well Mr Houben communicates when his 'facilitator' is blindfolded, or when he is asked questions about objects in his line of sight but hidden from hers."

I had the same thought the first time I saw the news report a few days ago.  There was a board approx 25x25cm with the alphabet written in a grid and a woman was holding his hand helping him to point to the letters and he was pointing to the letters incredibly fast, BAM - BAM - BAM as fast as you're reading this now, I couldn't even do it that fast probably (as it wasn't a qwerty layout like I'm used to), AND HE HAD HIS EYES SHUT while he was doing it!

I can't find the video, the report I saw was on Sky News, in this one the typing is pretty fast but on the Sky News clip it was a different clip & faster.

Belgian Man Alert but Mute for 23 Years

[shadowstar]

I'd officially be nuts by the time the first year is over.