According to Fergus Walsh in "Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain' ", a Canadian man who have been treated like in a vegetative state for 12 years, after a car accident where he suffered a severe brain injury, showed been able to tell scientists that he is not in any pain. Often, vegetative patients that get to emerge from a coma, get into a condition where they have periods awake, with their eyes open, but without perception of themselves or the outside world. It was the first time that a severely brain-injured patient has been able to answer Yes/No questions clinically relevant to their care. For the future, the doctors expect could ask to the patients what could be done to improve their quality of life; it could be simple things like entertaiment or the times of day to be washed and be fed.
After I read this, I felt two different feelings about it. The vegetative stage used to be seen like a stage where the patient cannot see, cannot listen, cannot talk, cannot think... a unconscious stage. And, thinking like that, the patient doesn't suffer, because he/she cannot understand what is happening. But now, with the patients answering yes/no questions, and showing us that they can understand what is going on, it's means that they really suffer with the conditions that they are living. So, after read this, I was very happy to see progress in the medicine, what can help patients to improve their quality of life, but in the other hand, I was sad to know that this kind of patient can live more than 10 years, like that cannadian, suffering without communicating with the others.
Reference
Walsh, Fergus. (2012, November 13). Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain'. BBC News Health. Retrieved November 14, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20268044
When I read it, I remembered that my bad dream. This dream was that I could feel, I could see, I could listen, and I could think. However, I could not move and not speak. I wanted say my body was very itches or painful, but I could not, and then nobody helped me. I am afraid of this situation because the last story was that I was going to undergo euthanasia. Fortunately, I could wake up before the injection of euthanasia I do not want to have the dream and real in this situation.
ReplyDeleteThis article I read before. Generally, Thai Buddhists say that because of his karma, he had been suffering from vegetative condition. He might cause something else to be vegetative in the past or another life cycle. Many Christians may say it is God'sake that make him revive. However, today, we say because of medicinal technology and access, his life have restored until normal now.
ReplyDeleteWOW! There are many beliefs around us. What should we believe?