Man Speaks After 6 Year Coma
An MSNBC.com article outlines a recently successful procedure to bring a man out of a six-year coma. At his family’s request, the man remains anonymous. The changes in his mental state, however, are for the world to know.
“My son can now eat, speak, watch a movie without falling asleep,” explained his mother. “He can drink from a cup. He can express pain. He can cry and he can laugh.” This had not been the case for the last six years, a time when the man was fed though a tube, rarely showed signs of awareness, and used thumb or eye movements to communicate. The man was beaten violently in the head during a robbery in 1999, and the doctors said he would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life, if he even survived at all.
Doctors brought the 38 year old man out of the coma using an experimental electrode procedure called deep brain stimulation. “Drive” was delivered to specific and crucial areas of the brain. A similar procedure has been used for years with Parkinson’s patients, but in different brain areas.
While the man still cannot walk and still must be spoon-fed, the changes are remarkable. Dr. Ross Zafonte, of the University of Pittsburgh, warns that “we need to know more,” but that the procedure is “very interesting and holds great promise.”
Families of the nation’s 110,00-280,000 “minimally conscious patients” would surely agree. After all, even a minor improvement can keep families optimistic. The mother of this man describes the little changes: “He can say ‘Mommy’ and ‘Pop.’ He can say ‘I love you Mommy.’ I still cry every time I see my son, but it’s tears of joy.”
You can read the entire article by clicking here
