man awakes from coma, still stuck in 1984

[medea]

Nearly 19 years after a wreck left a man paralyzed and unable to communicate, his power of speech has returned, the man's family said Monday.
Terry Wallis was 19 when the pickup truck in which he and two friends were driving near Stone County, Arkansas, drove through a rail and off a 25-foot bluff and tumbled to the ground. One man was killed; another emerged without a scratch; Wallis was paralyzed.

"But he remains stuck in 1984, she said. Asked who the president is, her son replied, "Ronald Reagan," she said.
And brain damage suffered in the accident is evident in his poor short-term memory, she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/07/07/mute.no.more/index.html

 

[P-Worm]

Whoa, 1984, that was the year that I was born. It's been along time. I wonder how he is ever going to get up to speed. I mean he probably thinks that Apple is on top right now (I mean wouldn't you?). And just wait till he sees the G5...

"Two 2 GHz processors?!?!?"
*lapses into another coma*

P-Worm

P.S. 400th post, only 100 more to go...

 

[Billicus]

Wow! Apple had just released the Macintosh when this guy went into his coma. I'd feel real bad if I were the guy that walked away with a scratch when one of my friends died and the other went into a coma for 19 years.

 

[iJon]

i cant understand why they would keep him on life support or whatever for 19 years. its crazy, and from looking at his pictures he looks like a vegetable now. but im sure the family is happy and that is all that matters.

iJon

 

[MacFan25]

This sounds like something off of a movie - waking up after 19 years. Hopefully his speech will continue to improve, along with his memory.

 

[Abstract]

Hahaha, nice to know he got a little more "perv" than when he first fell into his coma.

 

[Doctor Q]

This story broke the same week that The Dead Zone started its third season on the USA Network. The show, based on the Stephen King novel, is about a man who is in a coma for 6 years after a car accident, wakes up, and is now a psychic who can experience other people's past or future when he touches them. It's a pretty good show, with a lot of variety in the plots.

I wonder what Terry Wallis will find that he can do? The articles and TV news stories I've seen didn't even answer the obvious question: was he hearing his visitors all those times they spoke to him when he could not respond?

I have a friend who was partially brain damaged in a bicycle accident (despite having worn a helmet). He was in a coma for a number of days. During his recovery, he went through a period where he would use the wrong noun, one picked totally out of the blue and having nothing to do with the conversation, when he couldn't think of a word. It kept him from getting stuck as he spoke, but he didn't even know he was doing it. It confused everyone listening to him until they learned to decode the wrong-noun sentences. The human brain is an amazing device.

 

[wdlove]

That is quite amazing. A mother's dream to hear her son say,"Mom." I was using my 1st Apple then an Apple IIE. Its another example in medical history to never give up hope!

 

[applemacdude]

19 Years of medical bills, wow thats gonna cost 'em. In 19 years alot of stuff happened, I wonder how he takes everything.

I wonder how one died, one got paraliized and one was with out a scratch? Seems ackward doesn't it?

 

[Flowbee]

"You mean to tell me that the vice-president's *son* is president now?!"

 

[eyelikeart]

I read this article earlier today. Can u imagine how trippy that's gotta be for his daughter? She's been alive as long as he's been in a coma.

I think the most amazing part of all this, is that he's been around for 19 years incoherent.

 

[jbomber]

crazy that his second word was Pepsi.

WTF is up with that?

as soon as this guy gets up and running, he's a spokesman for sure.

19 years of muscle atrophy has GOT to suck.

 

[mymemory]

He doesn't even know Guns N' Roses

 

[jbomber]

Holy Time Machine Batman!


Seriously, this guy has a LIFETIME of stuff to catch up on. So much has changed in 20 years. not the least of which is the INTERNET!?! It must be like falling asleep and waking up in a sci-fi story. Cellphones, Satellite Radio, Global Communications, Personal Computers...

 

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by jbomber
as soon as this guy gets up and running, he's a spokesman for sure.

19 years of muscle atrophy has GOT to suck.

He's quadriplegic.

 

[pseudobrit]

In fact, the parents said, Terry was never seen by a neurologist after the accident.

"They told us it would cost $120,000 just to evaluate him to see if he could be helped, and we didn't have that kind of money," said Jerry, who is a farmer. His wife works in a shirt factory.

Attempts to get Medicaid to pay proved fruitless. "They said the government will not put out that kind of money on no more chance than he's got to re-enter the workforce."

As a result, their son was never evaluated, he said.

That's disgusting.

 

[encro]

Originally posted by mymemory
He doesn't even know Guns N' Roses

for his sake that is a really good thing!

 

[blogo]

Wonder what he will think about the 17" ultrathin 1 ghz powerbook g4

 

[medea]

Originally posted by jbomber
Holy Time Machine Batman!


Seriously, this guy has a LIFETIME of stuff to catch up on. So much has changed in 20 years. not the least of which is the INTERNET!?! It must be like falling asleep and waking up in a sci-fi story. Cellphones, Satellite Radio, Global Communications, Personal Computers...

You guys should really read the whole article, he has a short term memory due to brain damage which may or may not be rehabed, hence the title Stuck in 1984 not Still in 1984.

 

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by jbomber
Holy Time Machine Batman!


Seriously, this guy has a LIFETIME of stuff to catch up on. So much has changed in 20 years. not the least of which is the INTERNET!?! It must be like falling asleep and waking up in a sci-fi story. Cellphones, Satellite Radio, Global Communications, Personal Computers...

...I think he's got a lot more to worry about than Satellite Radio. Seriously guys, we're technophiles, but that doesn't mean that that the technological culture shock is going to be his biggest hurdle.

This isn't like the movies. If anyone noticed, this guy's not in perfect health, to say the least. As someone noted, he's quadriplegic.

There are many physical, mental, and emotional struggles he has before him.

His speech his slow and painful.
His personality has changed.
HE'S STILL PARALYZED!
And his parents can't afford medical treatment.

That last thing is the saddest of them all. What has the healthcare system in this country come to? What has happened to doctors? They are greedy, money-obsessed leeches. It makes me sad to see the state of my future profession.

No one cares about the patient anymore. Every doctor should be obliged to perform a percentage of his services for free, especially in a case as sad and dire as this. 120k just for an assessment? The price itself is outrageous, and to deny service to a poor patient is immoral.

 

[Doctor Q]

Patients with unusual stories who find their stories in the newspaper often get donations from people who read about them. I hope this happens for Terry Wallis, because his family can certainly use the help, but letting the "squeaky wheel get the grease", as the old saying goes, is a lousy way to distribute medical care for expensive cases.

 

[encro]

Originally posted by themadchemist
That last thing is the saddest of them all. What has the healthcare system in this country come to? What has happened to doctors? They are greedy, money-obsessed leeches. It makes me sad to see the state of my future profession.

No one cares about the patient anymore. Every doctor should be obliged to perform a percentage of his services for free, especially in a case as sad and dire as this. 120k just for an assessment? The price itself is outrageous, and to deny service to a poor patient is immoral.

The problem is not that doctors do not care, they do care a lot. The real problem is legal liabilility and the people who take advantage of the systems in place. Globally the world is in a state of disaster. People sue for millions based on the most ridiculous groundings.

I remember a friend telling me about a wedding where one of the guests had choked on some food. Most of the guests attending were actually Doctors but couldn't do anything because of these reasons. They eventually found a kichen hand who had done first-aid and could help with CPR on the guest.