http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8375326.stm

 

A Belgian man who doctors thought was in a coma for 23 years was conscious all along, it has been revealed.

 

Medical staff believed Rom Houben had sunk irretrievably into a coma after he was injured in a car crash in 1983.

 

The University of Liege doctor who discovered in 2006 that, although Mr Houben was paralysed, his brain was working, said the case was not unique.

 

Mr Houben said that at first he felt angry at his powerlessness, but eventually learned to live with it.

 

"Other people had an opinion of me," Mr Houben, now 46, told the BBC.

 

"I knew what I could do and what I was capable of but other people had a rather pathetic image of me. I had to learn to be patient and now finally we are on an equal footing."

 

'He's an optimist'

 

It was only in 2006 that a scan revealed Mr Houben's brain was in fact almost entirely functioning.

 

He now communicates by using a special keyboard attached to his wheelchair.

 

His mother, Fina Houben, told the BBC that she always believed her son could communicate.

 

"He is not depressed he is an optimist," she said. "He wants to get out of life what he can."

 

The BBC's Dominic Hughes, in Belgium, says the case raises the issue of how many other people believed to be in comas are actually trapped inside their bodies, desperate to communicate.

 

Mr Houben's story was revealed in a paper written by Steven Laureys, a doctor at Liege University who wrote a recent paper that detailed the case.

 

In it, Mr Laureys said that in about 40% of cases in which people are classified as being in a vegetative state, closer inspection reveals signs of consciousness.

 

Mr Houben said that at first he felt angry at his powerlessness, but eventually learned to live with it.

 

I personally find the article rather disturbing. A man was misdiagnosed as being in a coma for 23 years, and then doctors finally discovered that he was conscious the entire time but was paralyzed and couldn't talk.

 

I wonder how many other people like this that there are in hospital beds. Imagine wanting to talk or walk around, but you're paralyzed and your family thinks that you're in a vegetative state.

Wow, that pretty much sums up my opinion. I thought they would do all sorts of brain scans to check the coma status, but i guess medical technology was not as good in '83

Agreed, that's pretty disturbing.

 

Hopefully they can start being a bit more rigorous when saying a person is vegetative or not.

:blink:

 

:shock:

 

:eek:

That's probably my worst fear; being trapped in my body without any control. That must have been terrible for him.

I just saw this on tv about 10 minutes ago. It must have been unbelievably frustrating knowing that you were conscious and nobody else realising while not being able to communicate. It is terrifying to think of being trapped inside your own body with no outside communication or anything to really stimulate you, every day of the 23 years must have felt like an eternity.

I smell a lawsuit...

That sucks.

Man, 23 years...

That would absolutely suck =/

 

Thats half his life just doing nothing but laying down without the ability to communicate or anything.

That seems like a fate worse than death. Slowly watching yourself age for 23 years. jesus christ. After a while I guess you'd get used to it, but those first few years must have been HORRIFYING. I can't even imagine.

23 years with no [bleep]? *shudders*

 

Anyways holy [cabbage] that would be horrible for the first few years... I mean like I can just sit and think for a few hours at the most but 23 years? I'd try and force my body to [cabbage] down... I feel really sorry for this man.

Oh my [bleep]ing god. How would you stay sane? I'd of lost it within th first 5 years, he lasted over 20! C'mon man, thats just wrong...

hello 35 billion lawsuit. I mean goddamn? How can you put a price on 23 wasted years. if that was me I'd freak. Within 2 hours, I'm dead serious. I hate being restrained, and being paralyzed without being able to talk to anyone... [bleep]ing dumb doctors.

Oh wow, poor guy.

I'm wondering why he didn't like force pull a bucket of sleeping pills into his face.

Can't get much worse than that :thumbdown:

Reminds me of a short story by Stephen King. Can't remember the name though. Pretty scary that this can happen.

I'm wondering why he didn't like force pull a bucket of sleeping pills into his face.

I don't doubt that he didn't try any and all forms of telekinesis. What else would you do for 23 years?

That's freaky. Really. It's just kind of hard to imagine what that must be like. I swear I'd have gone insane by now...

 

Reminds me of House, where guy had 'Locked in' syndrome and couldn't move/talk/communicate. The other doctor was gonna cut his organs out but luckily House realised he wasn't in a coma/deadded.

Reminds me of a short story by Stephen King. Can't remember the name though. Pretty scary that this can happen.

You're thinking of The Dead Zone, except in that one the guy woke up completely mobile. Good story, *very* creepy movie.

 

I'm actually amazed that this guy didn't go completely insane. They could have hooked up that machine and gotten nothing but incoherent gibberish. What would they have done then? Just take him off the machine again? Euthanasia? This whole story raises all kinds of ethical/legal questions.

I would have gone insane after doing absolutely nothing for 23 years of my life, hell I would probably trying to make myself insane just to escape the boredom.

Wow, thats quite scary.

That guy's been conscious and laying there longer than many folks on these boards have been alive. If you're younger than 23, think about everything thats happened to you this far in your life. Whilst all that happened, that guy was just there in a vegetative state. Quite a scary thought.

He say's he meditated to pass the time.

Wow, thats quite scary.

That guy's been conscious and laying there longer than many folks on these boards have been alive. If you're younger than 23, think about everything thats happened to you this far in your life. Whilst all that happened, that guy was just there in a vegetative state. Quite a scary thought.

He say's he meditated to pass the time.

 

He wasn't even in a vegetative state.

Couldn't help but say DUN DUN DUNNN out loud when I read the title.

 

But, don't let those conservative nutjubs (or are they called teabaggers now? ha!) get a hold of this story, or they'll decry this as what socialized medicine will do.

 

Anyways, the guy is most definitely insane now.

But, don't let those conservative nutjubs (or are they called teabaggers now? ha!) get a hold of this story, or they'll decry this as what socialized medicine will do.

 

They're called Guy Fawkers now.