Still Waters Posted November 23, 2009 #1 Share Posted November 23, 2009 A Belgian man diagnosed as being in a coma for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time. Rom Houbens was simply paralysed and had no way to let doctors caring for him what he was suffering. "I dreamt myself away," says Houben, now 46, who was misdiagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state after a car crash. Doctors and nurses in Zolder deemed him a hopeless case whereby his consciousness was considered "extinct". The former martial arts enthusiast and engineering student was paralysed after a car crash in 1983. He was finally correctly diagnosed three years ago and his case has just come to light in a scientific paper released by the man who "saved" him. Doctors treating him regularly examined him using the worldwide Glasgow Coma Scale which judges a patient according to eye, verbal and motor responses. During every examination he was graded incorrectly. And so he suffered in silence, unable to communicate to his parents, his carers or the friends who came to his bedside that he was awake and aware at all times what was happening in his room. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma_Acid Posted November 23, 2009 #2 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Horrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paraweird Posted November 23, 2009 #3 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I simply cannot imagine the hell this poor guy went through. Makes me think how many other poor souls out there are in the same state? How many have even been allowed to die like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schizoidwoman Posted November 23, 2009 #4 Share Posted November 23, 2009 The poor man, I can't begin to imagine how it must have felt for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackoftheFools Posted November 23, 2009 #5 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That right there has to be the definition of "This really sucks". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac E Posted November 23, 2009 #6 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That's Hell on Earth, right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashyne Posted November 23, 2009 #7 Share Posted November 23, 2009 It is truly terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbondo Posted November 23, 2009 #8 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Wow,just wow. If he is connected to life support, imagine people standing there discussing whether to pull it. I'm sure this happened on some occasion. Then again I'm sure there were many times he just wanted to die. This is the absolute definition of solitary confinement. What if we offered this instead of the death penalty? I'll bet the murder rate would drop right off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mataroki Posted November 23, 2009 #9 Share Posted November 23, 2009 hmmm...how did they figure out he was paralyzed? did it just come to mind to the guy to check for paralysis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behaviour??? Posted November 23, 2009 #10 Share Posted November 23, 2009 He clearly know what it is when expression is not possible...Horrific case Thanks B??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odds Posted November 23, 2009 #11 Share Posted November 23, 2009 This is seriously disturbing. I am 23, and he spent the equivelant of my life in a bed, unable to move or express anything. That is just horrible. No one deserves a fate like that, i'm glad he was finally diagnosed correctly. And the thought that there are other people out there stuck in the same situation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exterminator Posted November 23, 2009 #12 Share Posted November 23, 2009 He must've gone mad.. Can you imagine... Holy moly... btw. in such cases can the person actually feel hunger, sleep etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickian Posted November 23, 2009 #13 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That right there has to be the definition of "This really sucks". Yeah, I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hill Posted November 23, 2009 #14 Share Posted November 23, 2009 (edited) I love sleeping, I'd love to spend all day in bed.. dreaming... dreaAmmminnnng mmmh I might fake being in a coma.. Edited November 23, 2009 by Bill Hill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaikou Posted November 23, 2009 #15 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That's Horrible. I sense a lawsuit... lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tattooedbettie Posted November 23, 2009 #16 Share Posted November 23, 2009 this reminds of the movie (based on a true story) "the diving bell and the butterfly"...great movie! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401383/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larving Posted November 24, 2009 #17 Share Posted November 24, 2009 How on God's earth did he manage not to go completely insane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranormalcy Posted November 24, 2009 #18 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Did he? It's not like he's out of the coma is it? He's just been properly diagnosed. Probably because somebody watched that episode of House. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinx Posted November 24, 2009 #19 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) I'm so glad that they figured it out for him, but man! 23 years of boredom, frustration and full body paralysis... with nothing for company but your own thoughts and your family and friends' grief. I can't even imagine the hell it must have been. ETA: Did he? It's not like he's out of the coma is it? He's just been properly diagnosed. Probably because somebody watched that episode of House. He was never in a coma, he's paralized from the eyes down. That means he wasn't able to communicate that he was awake for all those years. And I personally don't watch House, but if an ep helped diagnose someone in that state, then that's awesome, give the writers an emmy... or at least the nobel prize. (But I still won't watch, too graphic for my tastes ) Edited November 24, 2009 by Pinx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deceiver Posted November 24, 2009 #20 Share Posted November 24, 2009 That's truly awful. It reminds me of "Johnny Got His Gun" Metallica also based their song "One" on it. "Darkness imprisoning me All that I see Absolute horror I cannot live I cannot die Trapped in myself Body my holding cell" Yeah, a faith worse than death... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemical-licker Posted November 24, 2009 #21 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) SO does he get to pay for his hospital bill if he was conscience all this time? Edited November 24, 2009 by chemical-licker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluey Posted November 26, 2009 #22 Share Posted November 26, 2009 That's Hell on Earth, right there. exactly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Render Posted November 26, 2009 #23 Share Posted November 26, 2009 (edited) Doubting a ‘Locked-In’ Man’s Words Update | 8:45 p.m. Rom Houben, a Belgian man who spent 23 years lying motionless in bed, suffering from complete paralysis that was misdiagnosed as the result of a coma, was discovered to have been fully conscious three years ago by a doctor using new brain-scan technology.Now, just four days after his remarkable story was first reported in the media, and he was shown giving a round of interviews to television journalists — typing out remarks on a special keyboard his family says he can operate with the help of a caregiver — Mr. Houben has been introduced to a new phenomenon: Internet fact-checkers. More It must be a pain in the ass for a lot of doctors/hospitals now too. All those families now doubting the diagnoses of their comatosed family member. Justified on some level. I mean ppl deserve to be 100% sure. Edited November 26, 2009 by Triade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistydawn Posted November 26, 2009 #24 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Where was god in all of this? Why did he have to suffer so horribly? Incapacited, vulnerable, lost... I wish to god I didn't believe in god. HORRIBLE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadude Posted November 26, 2009 #25 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Apparently this is complete BS from what I've read. The video of the woman doing this is looking at his hand and moving his fingers for him. There is no independent movement. The poor man is a pawn and that woman should be arrested for fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now