A recent study has shown that some people who are in a Persistant Vegetative State are still conscious and able to form coherent thought. This potentially adds a new dimension to discussions about euthanasia.
Personally it scares the willies off me to think that I could be kept alive fully aware of my surroundings yet trapped in my own body, unable to express myself to those around me.
What are other peoples thoughts on this new revelation?
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/07/america/NA_MED_US_Vegetative_Brain.php
2006-09-08 09:41:36 · 10 answers · asked by barrytabrah 3 in Health ➔ Mental Health
I saw that on the news too. Sounds creepy to realize that if a person's in a coma that they really want to try to communicate but can't. My sister and I disagree completely on this. If I go into a coma and the doctors believe it's gonna be a longterm thing, I don't want feeding tubes or anything like that. Just let me go. My sister on the other hand wants to be kept alive by any artificial means necessary for as long as it takes her to wake up. I don't want to be asleep for 20 years then wake up with no quality of life. But that's just me. If someone else wants to be kept alive, I respect that.
2006-09-08 09:49:11 · answer #1 · answered by Iknowsomestuff 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a degree in the sciences, though not medicine. As I read the article, I couldn't help but wonder about the validity of brain activity, even in specific quadrants, to leap to a conclusion that there is still conciousness. Three times in the article it pleads caution in quick or wide-spread interpretation of the results, and from what I could tell it wasn't even a doctor or scientist writing the article. This may be something to watch for over the next few years, or it may be just an automated response. The nerves in the ears are, after all, inputing information into a brain. Some electrical response should be expected. This may not mean anything, or it may mean that future tests will show that individual PVS patients are not as badly damaged as others. For the present, this research is really not valid, though it shows promise down the road.
2006-09-08 17:02:08 · answer #2 · answered by trigonotarbida 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's what I thought when I heard the report.... like a living hell.
If they can work out that you can hear & understand (by looking for brain activity patterns in regions of the brain in response to certain prompts like "Imagine you are playing tennis or wondering between all the rooms in your house) then I would have thought they could say something like "if you want to be released from this life of hell, then imagine you are playing tennis right now for the next few minutes". Ask them the same question on several different occations to be sure of course, and warn them that you will be asking them the question several times so they have time to consider their answer, to what would be the hardest question of anyone's life.
I guess you will need to make sure they're not actually in a 'sleep' cycle of their coma or they won't hear you anyway!
ps. Barry, you look like me when I was younger!
2006-09-08 16:54:30 · answer #3 · answered by Quasimojo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off, anything is possible. With medical research the way it is these days. I too, agree with you and Rawwwr though. But also there is the fact that anything change at any given moment. So it would be safe to say that if I'm alive then its a good day. You could be under those circumstance stated above one day and pull out of it the next.
2006-09-08 16:53:02 · answer #4 · answered by Stephen 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That would probably be one of the most horrible things that could happen to a person. Being trapped in your body while life goes on around you - unable to do anything, yet able to take in information. How aweful!
2006-09-08 16:43:40 · answer #5 · answered by Rawrrrr 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just read that less than ten minutes ago & I find it to be both frightening and hopeful. It's scary to think of being conscious in such a state. However with the studies being done, I'm hopeful that we're one step closer to understanding the altered status which whill help both diagnosis & treatment of patients.
2006-09-08 16:48:44 · answer #6 · answered by Shadow 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A neighbor's son snapped his brain stem when his head hit the sidewindow in a skid that ended in hitting a tree at only about 23 MPH. He is in one of the what; 23, levels of coma. It is not that hard to tell he is in there. His mother keeps him at home so when he refuses to eat she can use his stomach tube and keep him alive . She has forbidden anyone to ask him if he wants to die. He has been this way for 12 years. I am telling you all if this happens to me I WANT to die; so let me. Talk about your living hell.
2006-09-08 17:28:08 · answer #7 · answered by Mod M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tho i have never realy been in that state (since im on here ) but i have been sedated where my mind has been a wake i ant open my eyes can hear the docs and i cant say any thing thank fully i did fal a sleep befor i was operated on but it was terrifiying wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy
but i wouldnt want to put to sleep tho there may be some thing in the futcher that can help me i wouldnt want that taken away from me ... but how would i tell any one ?
2006-09-08 16:49:48 · answer #8 · answered by warmup001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds like an induced dissasociative identity disorder.
2006-09-08 16:47:14 · answer #9 · answered by nakita 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Can I ask youa question?
How did you insert that hyperlink?
Thanks
2006-09-08 16:51:22 · answer #10 · answered by njl433 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋