Doctors thought he was in a coma, but he was in fact conscious for 23 years

[FoxMulder91]

For 23 torturous years, Rom Houben says he lay trapped in his paralysed body, aware of what was going on around him but unable to tell anyone or even cry out.

The car crash victim had been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state but appears to have been conscious the whole time. An expert using a specialised type of brain scan that was not available in the 1980s finally realised it, and unlocked Mr Houben's mind again.

Mr Houben, 46, is now communicating with one finger and a special touchscreen on his wheelchair.

"Powerlessness. Utter powerlessness. At first I was angry, then I learnt to live with it," he said, punching the message into the screen during an interview with the Belgian RTBF network, aired on Monday. He has called his rescue his "renaissance".
"I would scream, but no sound would come out,'' he said. "I will never forget the day they finally discovered what was wrong - it was my second birth.''

http://www.smh.com.au/world/doctors-...1124-j8gs.html

Wow, I cant even imagine what this would be like.

[Thor]

Fraud: http://www.skepdic.com/facilcom.html

If you use a double blind test it could easily disprove the method, as its the handler pushing his fingers to where they want it.

Sad.

One of the comments on the newstory puts it best:

The method of communication being used here is not via "computer" but facilitated communication (FC) in which a facilitator helps guide Rom's hand to touch a screen. Unfortunately, facilitated communication is a hoax.

There is on one inescapable fact - FC cannot pass a double blind test.

Step 1) Show Rom a photo of a bicycle and show his facilitator a photo of a fish (with a divider so that neither can see the other person's picture).

Step 2) As Rom to type what he sees.

Step 3) Watch Rom type the word Fish even though he has no way of knowing what his facilitator is seeing.

Step 4) Repeat the process 100 times and find that in EVERY case the word type is of the photo the facilitator sees.

The facilitators are sub consciously guiding Roms hand, just like using a ouiji board. It is difficult to believe they could do this without being aware of it, but it's true. Look up "Prisoners of Silence" from 60 Minutes.

[The Ditch]

Did anyone else thing of The Odyssey when they read this article? Ah, memories.

[Kipper is King]

He probably asked first thing if the Leafs had won the Cup yet.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

He probably asked first thing if the Leafs had won the Cup yet.

You don't think he's suffered enough?

Sadist!

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

He probably asked first thing if the Leafs had won the Cup yet.

He was mostly brain-dead....he would have asked about the Canucks, no?

[AvsJerk]

I would like to add this scenario to the "Greatest fears" thread from about a month ago. My god, can you imagine the monotony of your day to day existence? I hope he at least learned how to lucid dream over the years.

[pope04]

Yeah, caught a snippet on CFCN news. God, how awful, those 23 years being treated like a vegetable.

[Thor]

Pope its a fraud, see above

Johnny got his gun/Metallica "One" came to mind first.

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by Thor

Pope its a fraud, see above

where in the article does it indicate that an FC is being used? Just wondering, cause i can't see "facilitator" or "with the help of" or anything really.

[T@T]

I don't know what to think of this.

Rom communicated by typing on a special keyboard attached to his wheelchair, and aided by his carer.
He said: "At some moments it was terribly lonely but I knew my family was believing in me."
"I simply want to enjoy life," he added. "I notice a big difference now I'm back in contact with the world."

Color me a skeptic but it doesn't look like he's the one doing the typing but he doesn't look like a total vegetable either.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/24...ium/index.html

[FoxMulder91]

Its not true, because someone posted a "logical" solution

[Prototype]

That just seems too obvious, that the person is moving the dude's finger.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by csnarpy

where in the article does it indicate that an FC is being used? Just wondering, cause i can't see "facilitator" or "with the help of" or anything really.

It is, this is clearly the case.

[firebug]

Doctor's remain suspicious.

From The Ness.

However, for those interested in situations like this beyond Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun, the Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a terrific movie.

Firebug

P.S. Facilitated Communication is a crock of BS!

Edit: Thought I would add this link to a Frontline piece done 16 years ago debunking the veracity of facilitated communication. I remember watching this piece when it originally aired, and even then was amazed at how uncritically most people were willing to accept that it worked.

[Bobblehead]

This was also the on an episode of House last season, with Mos Def as the "locked-in" patient.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by FoxMulder91

Its not true, because someone posted a "logical" solution

As opposed to the more rational position of "It's true, because I think it's really neat."

[troutman]

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=2838

The mainstream media is doing a wonderful job sensationalizing this case, presenting it without skepticism. Some outlets are doing a good job of discussing the relevant issues – but they don’t have the information to have a meaningful discussion of this particular case. Details are tantalizing but thin.

This is a wonderful story for the media. But to this neurologist, and I would think to any critically-thinking journalist, some questions come to mind. The biggest problem with this case as presented is that the finger-typing of Mr. Houben looks suspiciously like facilitated communication.

I don’t know what Mr. Houben’s exam is. But I do have a video of him communicating. What I can say with high confidence is that this is a video of bogus facilitated communication. The “facilitator” appears to not just be supporting Houben’s hand, but moving it around the keyboard.

Houben is looking in the general direction of the keyboard, but at times not directly at it (which is necessary for single finger typing). It is not clear if he can even see, and since his eyes are not in line it is not clear which eye he would be using.

His hand is also in a brace; his finger is not touching the board – the plastic of the brace is – so he would have little sensory feedback.

And yet his hand flies dextrously across the board typing very quickly. It seems impossible that someone with his level of paralysis, and years of inactivity, would be able to type so quickly with just a little “support”. There is little doubt, in other words, that his typing is the product of bogus FC – the facilitator is doing the communicating, not Houben.

It is also, in my opinion, a further abuse of this patient. Mr. Houben, if he is truly conscious, has now been deprived once again of his ability to communicate – usurped by a facilitator, who will be communicating in his name (and even writing a book, we are told). Never underestimate the ability for pseudoscience to make a bad situation worse.

Addendum: Here is a new video in which Houben clearly has his eyes closed while the “facilitator” is typing furiously. This is completely impossible.

[troutman]

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/...s-to-stop.html

For those who may need further evidence for my contention, the proof can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ye9d9lp -- where it is clearly seen that the “facilitator” is looking directly at the keyboard, while the subject is asleep! There can be no further doubt. This FC claim is simply untrue, a farce, a lie – and the “facilitator” knows it! And no, this man is not going to write a book, but the "facilitator" is, and if this humbug is not stopped, she'll make a fortune doing so. Put a stop to this, someone!"

But who will see that the caretakers for this unfortunate man are corrected and made to answer for this situation?