Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain'

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A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to tell scientists that he is not in any pain.

It's the first time an uncommunicative, severely brain-injured patient has been able to give answers clinically relevant to their care.

Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an fMRI machine.

His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will need rewriting.

"Scott has been able to show he has a conscious, thinking mind. We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activity shows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe he knows who and where he is."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20268044
 
On more then one occasion I have been told nurses to talk in front of patients (unconscious) as if they can hear because we just don't know, now we know at least in Scott's case it is possible.
 
I'm glad he isn't in pain, but I think being aware of everything around you but not able to communicate or move sounds like an absolute nightmare.
 
From the article:

But the British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen - who led the team at the Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario - said Mr Routley was clearly not vegetative.



I guess it all depends how one interprets and defines "vegetative". IMO, whether this poor man or others like him have some brain activity, the real question is what kind quality of life does one have in such a state?

I suppose this discovery can prove as a breakthrough for the future. If they can respond to such questions as "if they are in pain", perhaps the part of the brain that allows them to do that can be further explored.

Very much a debatable topic.
 
and is exactly why Terri Schiavo should have been allowed to live!!! IMO, her husband got away with murder!!!
 
We don't know that Terri Schiavo had the same capability. The link above says that another patient in the same ward does NOT show brain functions in response to outside stimuli. Also, the results in the linked case have not been replicated by other experts; we need to withhold judgment and let science take its course.

But regardless of the ultimate findings, I can't imagine anything more inhumane than sentencing somebody to live in an outwardly unresponsive state. You might as well bury them alive with a ventilator and feeding tube.
 
and is exactly why Terri Schiavo should have been allowed to live!!! IMO, her husband got away with murder!!!

Terri Schiavo was a beautiful young woman with dignity before she fell into a coma.

She lost ALL of her dignity during that nasty battle in the media (the sad videos put out by her parents intended to promote the "her cause" etc...) and for what?

I don't think she would have been pleased with the "attempt to save her " at all. She likely would have felt utterly humiliated, she became the brain damaged infantile image blasted across America and that is imo opinion disrespectful to an extreme degree. We all die, but most of us hope we won't be humiliated in the process, poor Terri had no choice in the matter. The autopsy report stated her brain was mostly jelly, and that fact I read that is another insult to her memory.
 
No way do I want to live like that. Death would be better, IMO
 
It seems if this fella can understand and respond, then HE should be the person to be asked whether HE wants to continue living or not. It should be HIS choice, not the opinion of others who, after all, are really just projecting their OWN preferences onto a helpless and voiceless victim.

Also, among the seriously ill, "dignity" is often perceived differently, especially if their will to live is strong regardless of what they "look like" to onlookers. Sometimes the terribly ill simply make others uncomfortable, embarrassed, or squeamish, leading some to want to end their OWN discomfort by pulling the plug on the ill person.

This man clearly communicated he was not in pain. I think it is just as likely that he lives in mortal fear that "others" will pull the plug on him as it is that he "wants to die because his life isnt worth living" anymore. I would NEVER make that assumption on his behalf.
 
Very interesting, but I have to say - I don't think I would want to live in a vegetative state either. That's not living, and what does it do to your poor family? They are either spending all their money having someone take care of you, or they are draining themselves 24/7 taking care of you, worrying about you. I wouldn't want that for myself or my loved ones. No, just let me die if I ever become vegetative. There's life on the other side...
 
Terri Schiavo was a beautiful young woman with dignity before she fell into a coma.

She lost ALL of her dignity during that nasty battle in the media (the sad videos put out by her parents intended to promote the "her cause" etc...) and for what?

I don't think she would have been pleased with the "attempt to save her " at all. She likely would have felt utterly humiliated, she became the brain damaged infantile image blasted across America and that is imo opinion disrespectful to an extreme degree. We all die, but most of us hope we won't be humiliated in the process, poor Terri had no choice in the matter. The autopsy report stated her brain was mostly jelly, and that fact I read that is another insult to her memory.

I seriously doubt Terri felt one iota of humiliation. And had she eventually come out of her coma, as some have after many many years, I also doubt that she would have looked back on her parents' efforts to save her as "disrespectful" or "humiliating". And I guess we will never know whether that could have ever happened as she was not only not allowed that opportunity, but she was not allowed the comfort of her parents loving presence during her dying and death. I see no "respect" for Terri as a human being in THAT horror whatsoever.
 
Very interesting, but I have to say - I don't think I would want to live in a vegetative state either. That's not living, and what does it do to your poor family? They are either spending all their money having someone take care of you, or they are draining themselves 24/7 taking care of you, worrying about you. I wouldn't want that for myself or my loved ones. No, just let me die if I ever become vegetative. There's life on the other side...

I also feel the same way for MYSELF and the best thing you and I can do is to put our wishes in writing so that no family member has to ever "guess" what our wishes would be. :)
 
Very interesting, but I have to say - I don't think I would want to live in a vegetative state either. That's not living, and what does it do to your poor family? They are either spending all their money having someone take care of you, or they are draining themselves 24/7 taking care of you, worrying about you. I wouldn't want that for myself or my loved ones. No, just let me die if I ever become vegetative.There's life on the other side...

Bbm...This article brings up another topic for me--Living Wills. My dad had several Living Will forms, but never actually filled one of them out. When he wound up on life support with no chance of recovery, it was up to me ad my little brother to decide what to do. We were 20 and 18 at the time. While I know in my heart we did the right thing by letting my dad go, I really wish my dad would've mentioned his wishes or filled the Living Will form out. So I just wanted to say that it's important to let your family and loved ones know what you would want in a situation like that.
 
I didn't know all the details about the Schiavo case, but I just read at Wiki (I know...not reliable) that Judge George Greer issued an order granting the petition for authorization to discontinue artificial life support for Terri, and in his order - the court found that Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state and that she had made reliable oral declarations that she would have wanted the feeding tube removed.

My question is - how can that be? How and when did she make those declarations if she was in a vegetative state? Anyone want to chime in? I don't mean to derail the thread, but when I read that it didn't make sense.
 
and is exactly why Terri Schiavo should have been allowed to live!!! IMO, her husband got away with murder!!!

Always felt something was very wrong with the decision made in this case.
 
I didn't know all the details about the Schiavo case, but I just read at Wiki (I know...not reliable) that Judge George Greer issued an order granting the petition for authorization to discontinue artificial life support for Terri, and in his order - the court found that Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state and that she had made reliable oral declarations that she would have wanted the feeding tube removed.

My question is - how can that be? How and when did she make those declarations if she was in a vegetative state? Anyone want to chime in? I don't mean to derail the thread, but when I read that it didn't make sense.

I'd guess that she may have said that she'd never want to be kept alive if she was ever in a permanently vegetative state, just like several people have said here. I can see allowing life support measures to be discontinued (respirator, dialysis, heart, whatever), but not a feeding tube. Taking away all forms of nutrition is murder in my mind, or assisted suicide at best (if the person had actually requested it); unless and until assisted suicide is made legal, removing a feeding tube shouldn't be allowed either. MOO
 
I didn't know all the details about the Schiavo case, but I just read at Wiki (I know...not reliable) that Judge George Greer issued an order granting the petition for authorization to discontinue artificial life support for Terri, and in his order - the court found that Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state and that she had made reliable oral declarations that she would have wanted the feeding tube removed.

My question is - how can that be? How and when did she make those declarations if she was in a vegetative state? Anyone want to chime in? I don't mean to derail the thread, but when I read that it didn't make sense.

IIRC (and I may not), the judge's conclusions were based on what Mr. Schiavo said his wife had told him before she became incapacitated. The judge was basically saying he believed Mr. Schiavo.
 
I'd guess that she may have said that she'd never want to be kept alive if she was ever in a permanently vegetative state, just like several people have said here. I can see allowing life support measures to be discontinued (respirator, dialysis, heart, whatever), but not a feeding tube. Taking away all forms of nutrition is murder in my mind, or assisted suicide at best (if the person had actually requested it); unless and until assisted suicide is made legal, removing a feeding tube shouldn't be allowed either. MOO

I don't understand your logic. Nobody is saying anyone who wants food should be denied it. Being forced to eat is no different from being forced to breathe.
 

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