[FairOpinion]

ping

[Thinkin' Gal]

[FairOpinion]

ping

[Prince Charles]

What an amazing story. It makes one wonder whether a grand jury should be empaneled to indict the murderers of Terri Schiavo, based on this evidence -- including that black-robed thug Greer, and that freakish Felos.

[Global2010]

Does this little pill have a name?

[InvisibleChurch]

I can only think about the Terri Schiavo case. The flowers in her room, which were allowed to have water, were also in a "vegetative state".

[Soul Seeker]

We'll see.

If something sounds too good to be true?

Just be cautious.

I'd love to take this and run with it for obvious reasons that still depress me....but I'd rather not be like the embryonic stem cell advocates that latched onto the miracle breakthrough that turned out to be a sham a few weeks ago.

[WOSG]

People in a coma are not subhuman; they are asleep.
It shouldnt be called PVS - vegetative is an insult, these are humans, not cabbages - so call it what it is,
PUS - Persistent Unconscious State.

It's wonderful that we are able to wake some of them up.

---

Perhaps the last word should go to Pat Flores, the mother of George Melendez, the 31-year-old coma patient who reassured his parents that he wasn't in pain after taking Ambien, as zolpidem is known in the US. He was starved of oxygen when his car overturned and he landed face down in a garden pond near his home in Houston, Texas, in 1998. "The doctors said he was clinically dead - one said he was a vegetable," says Pat. "After three weeks he suffered multi-organ failure and they said his body would ultimately succumb. They said he would never regain consciousness."

He survived and four years later, while visiting a clinic, Pat gave him a sleeping pill because his constant moaning was keeping her and her husband, Del, awake in their shared hotel room. "After 10 to 15 minutes I noticed there was no sound and I looked over," she recalls. "Instead of finding him asleep, there he was, wide awake, looking at his surroundings. I said, 'George', and he said, 'What?' We sat up for two hours asking him questions and he answered all of them. His improvements have continued and we talk every day. He has a terrific sense of humour and he carries on running jokes from the day before.

[Salamander]

I wonder if.....ping.

[shield]

Amazing.....

[denydenydeny]

I get the feeling that certain people are going to be very upset at this news.

[little jeremiah]

Have you seen this one?

[JCEccles]

What an amazing drug! What a great series of stories! The resiliency of the human mind and body are astonishing.

Not everyone is pleased with this hopeful news, however. The Kevorkian vultures among us to are filled with anger, misery, and despair because of it.

[TAdams8591]

WOW, this is truly amazing and proves there is so much we don't yet understand about the human brain.

Comatose patients are still there, it's a matter of turning on the right switch.

[teenyelliott]

ping for tomorrow

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

After 20 Years in 'Vegetative State' Woman Wakes

[patton]

Leda, actually click through the link and read the article. Then I have a question.

[RS]

"We have always been told there is no recovery from persistent vegetative state - "

Interesting article - But it dosen't say that any of the cases cited were diagnosed as being in a persistant vegitative state - nor if this could be considered a recovery.

"Holroyd remains perplexed. "There is a measurement of the depths of coma called the Glasgow scale, with three being the worst and 15 being normal," he says. "Riaan was six, but within 10 minutes of taking the pill he is up to nine."


Interesting that he is still on the "depth of Coma" scale - Assuming that 15 is aware and 12 is during a lecture on Chemistry with a hangover. .... ( it's a joke ! )



And we need to seriously begin to address the "whatever it takes" factor -

[orchid]

My wife is an RN with a degree in anesthesiology and was director of nurses for Pat Flores' company before her retirement. She administered to George on numerous occasions. His recovery is nothing less than miraculous.

[Mount Athos]

WOW!!!! This is such an amazing article