Man thought to be in coma for 23 years was just paralyzed!

wow

From BBC:

Quote:

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

A doctor at Belgium's University of Liege who discovered that Mr Houben had been misdiagnosed said his case was not an isolated one.

"I was shouting, but no-one could hear me," Mr Houben, now 46, was quoted as saying by a German magazine.

According to Der Spiegel, Mr Houben, who can now communicate by using a special keyboard, has described how his body did not respond when he woke up after the accident.

Second birth

He has also said that he felt powerless as doctors and nurses tried to speak to him before giving up hope, and that he "dreamt the time away" as the years passed.

It was only in 2006 that a scan revealed that though Mr Houben was paralysed, his brain was in fact almost entirely functioning.

"I will never forget the day they discovered me," Mr Houben was quoted as saying. "It was like a second birth."

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.

Isn't that just horrible? They wasted 23 years of his life.
Should we blame the doctors or the apparatus used to measure these things?

Soap · 11-23-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wow

From BBC:

Isn't that just horrible? They wasted 23 years of his life.
Should we blame the doctors or the apparatus used to measure these things?

No its not the doctors fault they did not have the technology, Also he could not talk so how would they know?

JohnK · 11-23-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soap

No its not the doctors fault they did not have the technology, Also he could not talk so how would they know?

That ^ and I'm currently reading One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest which relates to this since there are patients in the story who are vegetables who will never function normally again. It's a good book.

wiss22 · 11-23-2009, 06:01 PM

i just read that article! science is amazing. it's a shame that this went undiscovered for 23 years. the man seems to be in good spirits, despite that. i'm not sure i would be that strong.

indieover · 11-23-2009, 06:56 PM

so how was the person able to communicate. since he is paralyzed and can't type on the keyboard. can he talk now. this is really terrible.

PhotoFx · 11-24-2009, 04:21 AM

Well that stinks. I wonder if he has heard any big secrets that flowed around the hospital :d. Hope he gets better.

fantanoice · 11-27-2009, 01:27 AM

I heard about this a few days back. It sounds terrifying. How on Earth could they not realise it for 23 years?! I feel so sorry for the man and his family.

google skill exorth · 11-27-2009, 05:07 AM

What stupid idiots but now he's safe and get on with out lives

sat · 11-27-2009, 08:19 AM

Oh my god poor guy!!!!!
If that happened to me i would be... i would go insane
Imagine not being able to do anything but sit and watch people be wrong about you for that long!

Qeltar · 11-27-2009, 08:41 AM

That must have been awful - imagine his terror if they decided to put him asleep and he heard. Oh gosh - to watch yourself die and not be able to do anything about it.

-- Q

btraill · 11-27-2009, 09:52 AM

They don't have the technology to understand these types of situations. Nor do they have the technology to tell that he wasn't actually in a full-blown coma.

It's not the hospital nor the doctors faults. That's life for ya'.

It does indeed suck, but the family should be faithful hes back to "almost" normal.

Qeltar · 11-27-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btraill

They don't have the technology to understand these types of situations. Nor do they have the technology to tell that he wasn't actually in a full-blown coma.

It's not the hospital nor the doctors faults. That's life for ya'.

It does indeed suck, but the family should be faithful hes back to "almost" normal.

We do have the technology to do so. If you looked into the situation you would know that is how it was found out he was paralyzed and not in a coma. Read the articles before posting - seriously.

-- Q

fantanoice · 11-27-2009, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btraill

They don't have the technology to understand these types of situations. Nor do they have the technology to tell that he wasn't actually in a full-blown coma.

It's not the hospital nor the doctors faults. That's life for ya'.

It does indeed suck, but the family should be faithful hes back to "almost" normal.

Of course they have the technology to. That's how they found out he was paralysed. *Facepalm*

dotDavid · 11-27-2009, 10:25 PM

Sort of disturbing that no one actually noticed. Feel sorry for the guy, though.

eclipse · 11-29-2009, 04:05 AM

sad to hear this. this would have bad feeling after he wakes up. really sad to hear that.

Loading · 11-29-2009, 04:38 AM

He wasted 23 years of his life... That's very sad, I hope he is happy now.

Albanox · 11-29-2009, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wow

From BBC:

Isn't that just horrible? They wasted 23 years of his life.
Should we blame the doctors or the apparatus used to measure these things?

I heard about this, on TV . Man I feel bad for this guy, I mean, imagine yourself being treated like your totally uncontentious for 23 years when you compltely know whats going on .

~Altin

pure evil · 11-29-2009, 04:53 AM

He heard everything aparantly. Including talks about them turning of his life support machine.

Albanox · 11-29-2009, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pure evil

He heard everything aparantly. Including talks about them turning of his life support machine.

Yeah heardzz that to. Lmao.... I feel so bad for that guy.

pure evil · 11-29-2009, 05:04 AM

yup. At least they found it out now and not later. Else that would be really harsh. The worst part i would imagine is the first few months.