Rom Houben, Thought Comatose, Was Paralyzed But Conscious for 23 Years
Unable to communicate, Belgian was locked inside his own brain.
In 1983, then 23-year-old Rom Houben was involved in a horrific automobile accident. When he came to in the hospital he found he could not move. Anything. He screamed, but the cry died in his own brain. He could hear the voices of doctors, nurses, friends and family, yet had no way of responding to them. He would later write about the frustration he then experienced: “I was a witness to my own suffering.”
Houben’s doctors, applying the universally-accepted Glasgow Coma Scales, determined that he was profoundly comatose and hence unconscious. For a time, nurses persisted in trying to evoke a response from him, then gave up. He was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state.
How Houben Coped
A poet once wrote that he marked time in coffee spoons. How Houben kept track of time’s passage, or if he ever tried to, is not yet known. The outside world will know much more in time, as he taps out messages one letter at a time.
We do know how he coped. “I dreamed myself away…I just dreamed of a better life,” he has written. And in this fashion he kept his sanity, day in and day out, for nearly a quarter of a century.
Houben’s Mother Never Gave Up
Despite objective tests supporting the coma diagnosis, Rom Houben’s mother was somehow convinced that her son did not dwell in the twilight world of the perpetually unconscious, but that his brain still lived. Meanwhile, computer-enhanced diagnostic techniques were being developed that would prove her right.
In time she lobbied physicians to tap into these techniques. Ultimately Professor Steve Laureys of Belgium’s Coma Science Group bowed in.
Laureys Makes the Crucial Finding
Using high-tech scans Laureys determined that Houben’s initial diagnosis had been wrong- the patient’s brain function was almost completely normal. For the first time since the accident, a physician told Houben: “I know you can hear me.”
Houben considers that moment to be his “second birth.” With physical therapy and instruction, Houben was able to use a mouth stylus to tap out messages on a special keyboard. Now he can communicate with family and friends, and tell his story to the world. Compared to what he has been through, he says, that is quite enough for him.
There may be Many Other Cases Like This One, as Yet Undiagnosed
Some physicians think there may be thousands of cases world wide of people similarly situated. Houben’s case may provide hope for others thought comatose, but with functioning brains.
As of now, any compendium of examples of human courage and perseverance would be incomplete without the name ‘Rom Houben’ in it.
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11 Responses to “Rom Houben, Thought Comatose, Was Paralyzed But Conscious for 23 Years”
On November 24, 2009 at 10:20 am
i heard it in today’s news. Amazing.
On November 24, 2009 at 2:18 pm
really an interesting story…thanks
On November 25, 2009 at 10:09 am
Interesting story.
On November 25, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Dr. Brignall,
I was just talking with my son the other day about The Living Will I’d gotten from our hospital and had him read it-so far the two people I’ve shown it to said not to sign it. Then we heard about Rom Houben and how incredible his story is. Still though, I’d not want to live as he is. Your article is incredible and I thank you for writing it here for all of us to read. Now I will find out if I have the right to re-word some of that living will.
On November 25, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Very interesting, great read!
On November 25, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I agree with Dr. Brignall,
People in those situations should be allowed to decide their future. This was an interesting articles and I’m so saddened that this person had to endure so many years of silent torment.
On November 26, 2009 at 2:04 am
wow
On November 26, 2009 at 2:05 am
To be trapped within oneself, it horrible
On November 26, 2009 at 5:33 am
He must have went through a lot of suffering. I hope he finds happiness. Thanks for the article
On November 26, 2009 at 8:27 am
Excellent article. It just goes to show that there is so much that we do not know about brain injury. Though I have always told me friends and family that if I am in a similar situation I do not want to be kept alive by artificial means, I hate the thought of being trapped in that state.
On January 14, 2010 at 10:53 pm
i have always been concerned about this issue. Like when people are all to willing to pull the plug. Brain dead is one thing but sometimes people pull plugs when others still are beeping out little electrical neuronal impulses. It is scary. I can think of some recent cases and cringe Star
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