Rom Houben is a Belgium man who was completely paralyzed after an auto accident when he was 23 years old. Houben was believed to be in a vegetative state, but he was completely conscious and heard every word said around him.
2009-11-24 10:43:05Column
錯當植物人23年 比利時癱瘓者重回世界
Rom_Houben
更新日期:2009/11/23 14:55
（中央社台北23日綜合外電報導）倫敦「每日郵報」（Daily Mail）今天報導，醫師誤診為植物人的一名比利時男子，23年來其實一直意識清醒。
當時還是學生的胡本（Rom Houben）在一場車禍後，全身癱瘓，而被誤診。
他無法讓專家、家人及朋友知道，其實他可以聽到他們所說的每句話。
現年46歲的胡本說：「我大叫，但是沒有聲音。」
經過一系列全球認證的昏迷檢測後，醫師無奈地宣布胡本已「無意識」。
但3年前，新的高科技掃瞄儀顯示，胡本腦部功能幾乎和正常人一樣。
胡本形容那時有如「重生」。
經過治療，他已能把訊息鍵入電腦螢幕。
拯救胡本的頂尖神經學專家勞瑞斯（StevenLaureys），最近才在期刊上公佈這項案例。
勞瑞斯說：「醫學進步救了他。」他相信世上可能還有許多被誤診的類似病例。
這項發現也可能激起是否有權結束植物人生命的辯論。
胡本一輩子都不太可能離開醫院和電腦，不過他的床頭現在有特殊裝置，讓他可以躺著看書。
胡本說：「我永遠忘不了他們發現我到底出什麼差錯的那天，那是我的重生。」（譯者：中央社陳蓉）981123
Rom Houben Coma not a Coma: Steven Laureys is Rom Houbens Doctor
Houben is now 46 years old and this unbelievable story has just been released. After years of utilizing the "the internationally accepted Glasgow Coma Scale," and misdiagnosing Mr. Houben, "hi-tech scans" showed that this brain was still functioning almost completely normally."
Only a re-evaluation of his case at the University of Liege discovered that he had lost control of his body but was still fully aware of what was happening.
He is never likely to leave hospital, but as well as his computer he now has a special device above his bed which lets him read books while lying down.
For 23 years, Houben could not indicate to family, friends or doctors that he could hear every word they were saying. With therapy, once he was accurately diagnosed, he was able to progress to tapping out messages on a computer screen. Just think what computers were like 23 years ago.
'I want to read, talk with my friends via the computer and enjoy my life now that people know I am not dead.'
Read the following carefully, and talk about it with your loved ones. How frightening is this?Mr Houben said: 'All that time I just literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt.'
Dr Laureys's new study claims that patients classed as in a vegetative state are often misdiagnosed.
'Anyone who bears the stamp of "unconscious" just one time hardly ever gets rid of it again,' he said....
...an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people a year remain trapped in an intermediate stage - they go on living without ever coming back again.'
A story like this makes me think of Terry Schiavo, whose family fought a bitter and years long battle with Schiavo's husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo. Terry's family believed she was conscious. Michael wanted her removed from the feeding tube. He eventually won, and Terry died of dehydration 13 days later. I have some measured amount of empathy for Michael Schiavo in this matter, and full and complete sympathy for Terry's parents. I would never want to stay alive because of a feeding tube, and I can see removing it when there is no hope of brain activity, but I will never understand letting anyone die of dehydration. I wonder how ObamaCare would handle a case like this?
Rom Houben's case should have physicians throughout the world reevaluating their comatose patients. In the meantime, I say Mr. Houben should have everything his heart desires, and I look forward to the inevitable interviews that are sure to be on newsstands soon.
Photo courtesy the DailyMail.
http://maggiesnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/11/rom-houben-coma-not-coma-steven-laureys.html
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