Belgian man, who was paralysed after a car crash in 1983, was misdiagnosed
Belgian man, who was paralysed after a car crash in 1983, was misdiagnosed
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But then doctors used a state-of-the-art scanning system on the brain of the martial arts enthusiast, which showed it was functioning almost normally.
"I had dreamed myself away," said Houben, now 46, whose real "state" was discovered three years ago and has just been made public by the doctor who rescued him.
Steven Laureys, a neurologist at the University of Liege in Belgium, has published a scientific paper saying Houben could be one of many falsely diagnosed coma cases around the world.
Houben is being cared for at a facility near Brussels and now communicates via a computer with a special keyboard activated with his right hand, which is capable of minimal movement.
He said his body was paralysed when he came round after his accident. Although he could hear every word his doctors spoke, he could not communicate with them. "I screamed, but there was nothing to hear," he said, via his keyboard.
Houben then suffered years of being effectively trapped in his own body as care personnel and doctors at the hospital in Zolder tried to communicate with him, but eventually gave up hope that he would ever come round.
Second birth
The moment it was discovered he was not in a vegetative state, said Houben, it was like being born again. "I'll never forget the day that they discovered me, it was my second birth."
Belgian doctors used an internationally accepted scale to monitor Houben's state over the years.
Known as the Glasgow Coma Scale, it requires assessment of the eyes, verbal and motor responses. But they failed to assess him correctly and missed signs that his brain was still functioning.
Laureys, who is head of the coma science group at Liege University hospital, concluded coma patients are diagnosed falsely on a disturbingly regular basis.
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"Once someone is labelled as being without consciousness, it is very hard to get rid of that," he said.
Did you know?
In around 40 per cent of cases diagnosed as vegetative, more careful examination shows there is still some level of consciousness
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