HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
Doctors thought man was in a coma for 23 years before realising they made a huge mistake
A doctor claimed Rom Houben was ‘definitely not’ in a vegetative state after more than two decades
The case of Rom Houben is something which has stunned the medical world for the last few decades.
After a near-fatal car crash in 1983, doctors believed the Belgian native was comatose and in a vegetative state – meaning he was alive, but unable to communicate, move, or think for himself…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
He was said to have spent 23 years imprisoned in his own body, unable to do anything except listen, in a case eerily similar to that of Martin Pistorius.
That was until Rom met Dr Steven Laureys, who diagnosed him with locked-in syndrome (LIS) in 2006.
For those who don’t know, this is a rare neurological condition where a person is conscious but unable to move or communicate verbally, except via eye movements.
The medic, who was a part of the University of Liege’s Coma Science Group, explained that he had made a major breakthrough after conducting numerous tests to determine Rom’s brain function.
Speaking to CBS News in November 2009, Laureys said: “When we put him in the PET scanner and the fMRI, we saw his brain was functioning normally.
“So he was not vegetative, definitely not.”
The neurologist believed that Rom’s case proved that thousands of patients who are classed as being in a vegetative state are misdiagnosed, pointing out that the ‘stamp of unconsciousness’ is hard to shake off.
Following the supposedly good news, Rom’s mother Fina Houben said that she had always believed that her son could still communicate with her, explaining that she was able to tell when he was in a ‘bad mood or when he was in pain’.
“He is not depressed, he is an optimist,” she told the BBC in 2009. “He wants to get out of life what he can.”
And so, arrangements were made to allow Rom to do just that.
While remaining in hospital in his home country, he was given a specially trained assistant who helped him with ‘facilitated communication’, which is also known as supported typing.
This technique involves the facilitator picking up on ‘micro movements’ which the patient makes, before they help guide the person’s hand to point to letters, pictures or objects on a keyboard as a form of communication.
Rom, a former martial arts enthusiast, apparently had a lot to say after he started working with speech therapist and facilitated communicator Linda Wouters.
He was said to have typed out a series of messages with the aid of a computer, explaining that he had screamed ‘but there was nothing to hear’ throughout the 23 years doctors thought he was in a coma. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
“I dreamed myself away,” he said. “I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was really wrong with me. It was my second birth.”
Rom was also supposedly writing a book about his experience thanks to the technology.
But after video footage of him working with Linda began to circulate, skeptics raised concerns about the facilitated communication method – and later, Dr Laureys was also forced to admit it was not effective.
In a bid to dispel speculation, Dr Laureys – who is an expert researcher in the field of brain function and vegetative states – conducted a series of tests on a group of coma patients, including Rom.
Participants were shown a series of objects and words while their facilitated communicators were not present, before being asked to relay what they had seen or heard when the facilitators returned to the room.
Rom failed all 15 questions of the test, according to local media outlet Der Spiegel.
“It’s easy to watch the video and say this method is not valid, but to prove that it is not true is actually very difficult,” Dr Laureys told the BBC while discussing his findings.
“The story of Rom is about the diagnosis of consciousness, not communication,” Dr Laureys said.
“I hope Rom and his family will stay as an example of how hard it is to pick up the signs of consciousness.
“Even when we know that patients are conscious, we don’t know if there is pain or suffering or what they are feeling.”
The neurologist maintained that the Belgian man was still a lot more conscious than doctors had previously believed and added that he believed Rom’s work with the Linda was genuine.
Revealing his findings to researchers in London, according to NPR, Dr Laureys said: “We presented three cases after traumatic brain injury. Two failed the test. And that was including Rom.”
He explained the tests had been repeated multiple times with Rom’s facilitator, but the results were always inconclusive.
Tragically, what was supposed to be a medical triumph – and a personal one for Rom – turned out to be hugely misguided.
These 4 Fruits to Improve Your Circulation Today!
The first step in ensuring that sufficient blood is able to circulate throughout your body is to ensure that your blood arteries are not blocked. As a direct consequence of this, the elasticity and suppleness of your blood vessels will be restored.
Because the blood arteries are going to be freed up, the blood flow is going to become more unrestricted. According to Healthline, the heart does not need to work particularly hard in order for blood to be pumped through the veins…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
The body can clean out its arteries by utilizing certain fruit components, which can be found in fruits. As a direct consequence of receiving this treatment, the blood vessels will not grow inflamed, brittle, or burst.
Both the unclogging and strengthening of blood vessels can be helped along by the use of specific minerals, nutrients that are present in plants (called phytonutrients), and proteolytic enzymes. The results of your hard work are presented in the following list.
Rutin is a type of bioflavonoid that can be found in citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines. Taking these bioflavonoids regularly can assist in the strengthening of your blood vessels.
Rutin is frequently isolated by scientists and included into various dietary supplements. When peeling an orange, you should take care to remove only the outer layer of skin that is green or yellow. Consume the entire orange, including the white covering that sits on top of it. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Rutin, which has medicinal properties that strengthen your blood vessels, can be tasted, despite the fact that the bitterness is highly medicinal and helpful to both your health and your health specifically.
If you haven’t done so already, peel the pineapple. There is something in the core of your pineapple that you should look for. This is a challenging part of the process to go through. There is a particular region of the pineapple that is particularly rich in bromelin. If you consume it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, it may help unclog your arteries and protect you from developing heart disease.
Another trace element that helps strengthen the blood arteries is copper, which can be found in bananas and avocados.
Copper is required in our diets in only trace amounts; yet, over consumption of this mineral can be detrimental to the health of our blood vessels.
Your delicate blood arteries will not burst into an aneurysm, and you will not have any internal bleeding as a result of this.
Getting your hands on an unripe pawpaw is the fourth possible course of action. Peel it and eat it in this form first thing in the morning when your stomach is empty. This dish has a significant amount of papain, which is an effective enzyme for cleaning out the arteries.
The proteolytic enzyme found in pawpaw contributes to the unclogging of blood vessels, which in turn improves the flow of blood to the organs in the body.
-
METRO2 months agoBoyfriend & Friend Lured Her To His Home, Forcefully Undressed Her, Raped & Killed Her, Body Burnt
-
SPORTS3 months agoBadminton Club of Theix-Noyalo Sees Success at General Meeting
-
IN-THE-NEWS3 months agoI Wish My Two Daughters Would Turn L3sbians And Completely Avoid Men In This Life
-
METRO3 weeks ago4-Year-Old Reveals Dad’s Condition At School, Teacher Saves The Day
-
SPORTS2 months agoTour de France 2024, today’s stage live
-
SPORTS3 months ago10 Players Leave Liverpool As Arne Slot Begins Overhaul In Post-Jurgen Klopp Era
-
IN-THE-NEWS3 months agoLexus SUV Stolen In Anambra Gets Recovered In Adamawa
-
METRO3 weeks agoMom went into coma after c-section and doctors put her on ‘last chance’ ventilator, but nurse’s idea changed everything!