Paralyzed Man Was Awake for 23 Years, Not in Vegetative State

A paralyzed Belgian man who spent the past 23 years incorrectly diagnosed as being in a vegetative state, was fully conscious and could hear everything around him the entire time. The man, Rom Houben, can finally communicate, thanks to a neurologist's persistent research. Doctors had assumed the 1983 car crash that paralyzed Houben, now 46, had also put him in a vegetative state -- awake but not conscious of his surroundings. Houben, a one-time engineering student and martial arts enthusiast...Full Story