Re: vegetative consciousness

[Guest guest]

> 'I felt trapped inside my body' By Morelle Health reporter, BBC News

>

> Scientists have shown for the first time that a person diagnosed as

> being in a vegetative state can communicate.

Wouldn't that be " misdiagnosed " ?

> While she was in hospital, unresponsive and seemingly unaware of her

> surroundings, Cambridge neuroscientist Dr Owen, who went on to

> make this latest discovery, scanned her brain.

That reminds me of the week I spent in Utah.

> It really scares me to think what could have happened if I hadn't had the scan

If nobody dx'd her, she would remain in care. They almost

certainly wouldn't terminate life support because in order to do

so, they would need a determination that she is either brain

dead or the equivalent. An outward appearance of someone in a

persistive vegetative state is not sufficient. Proper medical

tests are required.

We saw that with Terry Shiavo's parents, using flashlights and

mirrors to show she wasn't in a persistive vegetative state.

(If flashlights and mirrors are good enough to find a wrench

which fell onto my car's skidplate, why can't the same tools be

used for something as simple as dx'ing a complex neurological

condition? After all, a wrench is a lot less animate than a

comatose person.)

> " After the scan, the doctors were able to tell us for the first time

> that Kate's brain was processing things.

Like I said.

> It took Kate a further two years to recover full consciousness, and

> according to Gill, Kate has continued to improve over the years.

All I needed was to leave Salt Lake.

- s