November 25, 2009
A Man 'Comatose' for 23 Years Has Apparently
Been Conscious All Along
But there is debate whether he is really able to communicate.
A Man 'Comatose' for 23 Years Has Apparently
Been Conscious All Along
But there is debate whether he is really able to communicate.
SUMMARY: A disabled man in Belgium was diagnosed as being in a vegetative
state 23 years ago after being in a car crash. Now Dr. Steven Laureys, after
using a special type of brain scan not available at that time, says the man, Rom
Houben, is fully conscious, and doctors say he has been conscious the whole
time.
The man appears to be able to communicate with the help of a speech therapist
who assists Houben in moving a finger along a touch-screen keyboard. Houben
says that the years of being disabled and unable to communicate left him
feeling "alone, lonely, frustrated, but also blessed with my family." The therapist
claims she can feel Houben guiding her hand with gentle pressure from his
fingers.
There are skeptics though to the claim that Houben is able to communicate.
After seeing a video of the therapist working with Houben, Arthur Caplain, a
bioethics professor at the U. of Pennsylvania said, "That's called 'facilitated
communication.' That is ouija board stuff. It's been discredited time and time
again. When people look at it, it's usually the person doing the pointing who's
doing the messages, not the person they claim they are helping." A medical
team though has verified it is really Houben who is communicating, and
Houben's mother also disputes Caplain and thinks her son has been
communicating for three years now.
Meanwhile Laureys is re-examining dozens of other cases and believes he has
discovered some degree of consciousness in other patients. He estimates
some 40% of patients with consciousness disorders are wrongly given a
diagnosis of a vegetative state. Many patients from around the world are
brought to his center for a battery of tests during a weeklong reassessment.
But he admits it can be difficult to tell the difference between a vegetative state
and minimal consciousness. Sometimes he has to sadly tell families of a person
in a vegetative state that no error was made in the original diagnosis of the
patient.
(Photo of a brain scan of a comatose patient from Wikimedia Commons)
To read the entire article, click on this link to NEWSVINE.
COMMENT: If this article is to be believed, a "comatose" man in Belgium is
fully conscious and is not in a vegetative state. There appears to be no debate
about that. One critic, however, questions whether Mr. Houben is really
communicating or whether it is his therapist who is doing the real talking. I
would suppose Mr. Caplain would have to go there and take the therapist's role
for a bit to satisfy his concerns one way or another.
At the very least though, this news should encourage doctors to make every
effort to determine whether a person is truly brain dead or not. Hopefully they
have the latest scanning equipment. Miracles have happened, even in modern
times. Comatose patients have come out of their comas.
Meanwhile, if one of our loved ones should go into a coma, we must see to it
that no test is overlooked in determining if the patient is truly in a vegetative
state or not. If he/she shows signs of being conscious, then the patient is not
dead, and we must leave it up to the Giver of Life to decide when to take that
person.
Unhappily, there are too many "comatose" people walking around today who
are fully conscious. These are the people who refuse to acknowledge the
overwhelming evidence of God's existence in the natural world around them.
Let us pray that we can reach these people with the Word of God and that they
will admit their sins and come to faith in their Savior. Then when they enter
eternity they will inherit a brain that will never die and a body free from every
defect.
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request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
**************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Is diabetes a growing problem for children?
**************************************************************************************
NOTE ON VISITOR COMMENTS: Visitor comments are invited including those
containing alternate views. However, comments containing profanity or
advertisements will not be published. After posting a comment, please allow
several hours for it to appear on the blog.
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state 23 years ago after being in a car crash. Now Dr. Steven Laureys, after
using a special type of brain scan not available at that time, says the man, Rom
Houben, is fully conscious, and doctors say he has been conscious the whole
time.
The man appears to be able to communicate with the help of a speech therapist
who assists Houben in moving a finger along a touch-screen keyboard. Houben
says that the years of being disabled and unable to communicate left him
feeling "alone, lonely, frustrated, but also blessed with my family." The therapist
claims she can feel Houben guiding her hand with gentle pressure from his
fingers.
There are skeptics though to the claim that Houben is able to communicate.
After seeing a video of the therapist working with Houben, Arthur Caplain, a
bioethics professor at the U. of Pennsylvania said, "That's called 'facilitated
communication.' That is ouija board stuff. It's been discredited time and time
again. When people look at it, it's usually the person doing the pointing who's
doing the messages, not the person they claim they are helping." A medical
team though has verified it is really Houben who is communicating, and
Houben's mother also disputes Caplain and thinks her son has been
communicating for three years now.
Meanwhile Laureys is re-examining dozens of other cases and believes he has
discovered some degree of consciousness in other patients. He estimates
some 40% of patients with consciousness disorders are wrongly given a
diagnosis of a vegetative state. Many patients from around the world are
brought to his center for a battery of tests during a weeklong reassessment.
But he admits it can be difficult to tell the difference between a vegetative state
and minimal consciousness. Sometimes he has to sadly tell families of a person
in a vegetative state that no error was made in the original diagnosis of the
patient.
(Photo of a brain scan of a comatose patient from Wikimedia Commons)
To read the entire article, click on this link to NEWSVINE.
COMMENT: If this article is to be believed, a "comatose" man in Belgium is
fully conscious and is not in a vegetative state. There appears to be no debate
about that. One critic, however, questions whether Mr. Houben is really
communicating or whether it is his therapist who is doing the real talking. I
would suppose Mr. Caplain would have to go there and take the therapist's role
for a bit to satisfy his concerns one way or another.
At the very least though, this news should encourage doctors to make every
effort to determine whether a person is truly brain dead or not. Hopefully they
have the latest scanning equipment. Miracles have happened, even in modern
times. Comatose patients have come out of their comas.
Meanwhile, if one of our loved ones should go into a coma, we must see to it
that no test is overlooked in determining if the patient is truly in a vegetative
state or not. If he/she shows signs of being conscious, then the patient is not
dead, and we must leave it up to the Giver of Life to decide when to take that
person.
Unhappily, there are too many "comatose" people walking around today who
are fully conscious. These are the people who refuse to acknowledge the
overwhelming evidence of God's existence in the natural world around them.
Let us pray that we can reach these people with the Word of God and that they
will admit their sins and come to faith in their Savior. Then when they enter
eternity they will inherit a brain that will never die and a body free from every
defect.
**************************************************************************************
Want to be automatically notified each time there is a new post? Just e-mail your
request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
**************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Is diabetes a growing problem for children?
**************************************************************************************
NOTE ON VISITOR COMMENTS: Visitor comments are invited including those
containing alternate views. However, comments containing profanity or
advertisements will not be published. After posting a comment, please allow
several hours for it to appear on the blog.
**************************************************************************************
0 Comments
| LSI stands for the Lutheran Science Institute, an organization of WELS and ELS Lutherans interested in science and health issues with a special emphasis on the creation and evolution controversy. This blog's purpose is to search the Internet to find articles of interest to Christians. Views expressed are those of the author (Warren Krug) and are not necessarily those of the Lutheran Science Institute, Inc. |
Yes, incidences of both Type 1
(juvenile) and Type 2 diabetes are
increasing in children. Europe reports
an annual increase of 4% of Type 1
diabetes in European children. Similar
trends are occurring in the U.S. Harmful
changes in the environment are
suspected as the cause for these
increases.
Source: Parade (November 8, 2009)
(juvenile) and Type 2 diabetes are
increasing in children. Europe reports
an annual increase of 4% of Type 1
diabetes in European children. Similar
trends are occurring in the U.S. Harmful
changes in the environment are
suspected as the cause for these
increases.
Source: Parade (November 8, 2009)