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Paralyzed Man In "Coma" For 23 Years Was Actually Conscious

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-have-an-itch-all-over dept.

overcaffein8d writes "A man who was paralyzed and thought to be comatose for 23 years had his nightmare ended. A hi-tech scan showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally. From the article: 'I screamed, but there was nothing to hear,' said Mr. Houben, now 46, who doctors thought was in a persistent vegetative state. "I dreamed myself away," he added, tapping his tale out with the aid of a computer. Mr. Houben said: "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 my life now that people know I am not dead."'"

2 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Skeptical of claims using faciliated communication by JoshuaZ · · Score: 2, Informative

    The individual in question is typing by aid of "facilitated communication" where by an assistant helps them type the words. There has been a lot of criticism of this method before. It was attempted with severely autistic kids about a decade ago and later worked showed that it was likely that the messages were coming almost completely from the facilitators not the kids. See http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/11/really_this_guy_is_conscious.php

  2. Withdrawing Support OR Human Ouijja = Sadistic ? by hitnrunrambler · · Score: 3, Informative

    I am not a medical professional, and can only judge based on the information we have been given.....

    But when I watch this video I don't see the same thing that's being reported.
    http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/24/coma.man.belgium/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

    What I see is some very questionable "facilitated communication"
    http://www.skepdic.com/facilcom.html

    Is it possible that the story is true as it's been presented? I don't know

    Is it possible that he can actually be guiding the "communication" when his pupils are not following the motion? I don't know

    Is it possible that he is still completely unaware at this point? I don't know

    I do know that the only people I've seen saying either "It's a MIRACLE!" or "It's a HOAX" have an agenda to support.... and I don't trust anyone who's that certain based on 3rd hand information.