ping
"...Almost 30 years ago, a 21-year-old named Karen Ann Quinlan lapsed into a persistent vegetative state after drinking too much alcohol and taking Valium at a party. Karen‘s parents waged a legal battle for the right to remove their daughter‘s life support. And they eventually succeeded.
But Karen continued to breath after the respirator was unplugged and remained in a coma for almost 10 years until her death in 1985. Karen would have been 51 years old next week..."