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Coma

This story was located on 091213 at http://foxyurl.com/MO9.

A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday.
一名癱瘓的美國男子母親今天說，她兒子已從醫生認為是植物人的狀態脫離出來，其實他完全清醒已23年，只是無法反應，因為身子癱瘓了。

Rom Houben, 46, had a car crash in 1983 and doctors thought he had sunk into a coma. His family continued to believe their son was conscious and sought further medical advice.
46歲的朗姆侯本，1983年發生一場車禍，醫生認為他已陷入昏迷。他的家人繼續相信他們的兒子有意識，並尋求進一步的醫學建議。

Professor Steven Laureys of Belgium's Coma Science Group realized that the diagnosis was wrong and taught Houben how to communicate through a special keyboard, said Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, who is on Laureys' team.
比利時昏迷科學會的范何登修斯博士說，與他同屬此一團隊的史蒂芬羅瑞教授體會到，該項診斷是錯誤的，並教導侯本透過一個特殊的鍵盤溝通。

Rom used the device to tell a reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel that: "I screamed but there was nothing to hear."
朗姆用這個特別裝置告訴德國明鏡週刊記者說：「我尖叫，但什麼都聽不到。」

Belgian doctors who treated him early on said that Rom had gone from a coma into a vegetative condition.
早先治療他的比利時醫生說，朗姆已經從昏迷狀態變為植物人狀態。

Coma is a state of unconsciousness in which the eyes are closed and the patient can't be roused, as if simply asleep. A vegetative state is a condition in which the eyes are open and can move, and the patient has periods of sleep and periods of wakefulness, but remains unconscious and unaware of him or herself or others. The patient can't think, reason, respond, do anything on purpose, chew or swallow.
昏迷是無意識狀態，病人眼睛關閉，不能被喚醒，彷彿就是睡著了。植物人狀態是，眼睛打開，可以轉動，病人時睡時醒，但仍然無意識或者不知道他自己或他人。病人不能思想、推理、不能有目的的做任何事、咀嚼或吞嚥。

But Rom's parents would not accept that he was comatose or vegetative.
但朗姆的父母不接受他陷入昏迷或是植物人的說法。

His mother, Fina Houben, said in a telephone interview that they took him five times to the United States for tests. More searching finally got her in touch with Laureys, who put Houben through a PET scan that indicated he was conscious. The family and doctors then began trying to?establish communication.
他母親費娜侯本，接受電話採訪時表示，他們把他帶到美國五次去進行測試。繼續搜索終於讓她聯繫到羅瑞，羅瑞給侯本做了正子掃瞄，顯示他有意識。這家人和醫生然後開始嘗試與他溝通。

A breakthrough came when he was able to indicate yes or no by slightly moving his foot to push a computer device placed there by Laureys' team. Then came the spelling of words using his finger and a touch-screen attached to his wheelchair.
羅瑞團隊在他腳邊放了一個電腦設備，當他能夠輕微移動他的腳，推動設備表達是或者不是，治療終於出現了突破性進展。然後是用他手指和連接到他輪椅的觸控螢幕拼寫單字。

"You have to imagine yourself lying in bed wanting to speak and move but unable to do so _ while in your head you are OK," Vanhaudenhuyse said. "It was extremely difficult for him and he showed a lot of anger, which is normal since he was very frustrated," she said.
范何登修斯說：「你必須想像自己躺在床上想講話和移動，卻不能如願_而在你的腦袋裡面你認為辦得到。那對他極為困難，讓他表現了很大的憤怒，但這是正常的，因為他非常挫敗。」

The case came to light after Laureys published a study in the journal BMC Neurology this year showing that about four out of ten patients with consciousness disorders are wrongly diagnosed as being a vegetative state. Houben, although not specifically mentioned, was part of the study. Houben has started writing a book on his experiences.
這個案例在羅瑞今年於《BMC神經學》雜誌發表一項研究後曝光，這項研究指出，有意識障礙的病人，十例約有四例被誤診為植物人。侯本雖未具體提到，但是這項研究的一部分。侯本已經開始寫一本有關他經驗的書。