From Comatose to Just Talking

I missed this story last week, but a reader just sent me the link about a firefighter who was in a "persistent vegetative state" at one point, and was also described as being in a coma--who has recently come out of it.

Jamil Ahmed, MD of the University at Buffalo, tells WebMD that Herbert is medically stable and "much better than before. He is definitely out of the coma. He's responsive, answering in 'no' or 'yes' with me, and moving all the extremities and shaking the hand."

Ahmed says Herbert's family says Herbert has been more communicative with them, asking his wife, "How are you doing?" and asking about his condition.

The firefighter was injured in 1995 and suffered brain damage.      

The story goes on to relate the case of a woman in Kansas, Sarah Scantlin, who went in a "minimal conscious state" from a coma after being hit by a truck 20 years ago. She recently began speaking and working at rehabiliation of atrophied limbs. She was able to speak to her parents on the phone. She also has said that she had been aware of the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks, which took place when no one thought she was aware of anything.

Oddly, going back to Donald Herbert, the firefighter, a neurologist made some comments that seem to downplay the story:

Speaking after such a long silence imposed by brain injury is "rare," says neurologist Nancy Childs, MD, of Texas NeuroRehab Center in Austin. But "recovery" might not be the right word for it, she says.

"What we're really talking about with this patient and a couple of the others that have been in the news is recovery of speech for a period of time," Childs tells WebMD, emphasizing that she does not know the particulars of Herbert's case.

She seems reluctant to use the word recovery, but something--communication--has been recovered. Perhaps not permanently? The recovery was stimulated by a drug treament targeting certain brain cells. The story doesn't say what the prognosis is, but perhaps that wouldn't be helpful anyway. The prognosis for Mr. Herbert a year ago did not include his asking his wife, "How are you doing/"