Again about the murder of Terri Schiavo.

[fpb]

This story was featured on CBS - one of the media organizations most committed to the lie that Terri Schiavo was "brain dead".
Woman Details Her 20-Year Coma
NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2005


For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin was seemingly unaware of the world around her after she was hit by a drunk driver in an accident that sent her into a comatose state in September of 1984.

Then in February, she shocked her parents and doctors when she began to speak. In her first national television interview, after undergoing surgery on her long-unused limbs and speech therapy to unlock her long-dormant tongue, Scantlin speaks with The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith in a two-part interview to be broadcast Thursday and Friday.

Smith also speaks with Sarah's parents, Jim and Betsy Scantlin, who never imagined they would talk to their daughter again.

In a February interview on The Early Show , Sarah’s father recounted the phone call he and his wife got, informing them of the unimaginable.

"It was amazing. I'm in the living room. Betsy was in the computer area, and the phone rings ... and suddenly, I'm aware that there's a profound, distinct difference. Rather than speaking about Sarah, it became very clear she [Sarah’s nurse] was speaking to Sarah. It was the most amazing feeling in the world," he said.

The 1984 accident occurred when Scantlin was crossing the street in her hometown of Hutchinson, Kan. She suffered a massive brain injury and could not breathe on her own. Smith speaks with New York neurologist Randolph Marshall, who says that people like Scantlin rarely awake from such an injury. "You only hear about these cases very rarely and they’re always a surprise when they actually come to light," he says.

Scantlin’s speech is still limited.

However, it seems that throughout her 20-year coma, she could see, hear, and understand what was going on around her. Shortly after she awoke, her father asked what she knew about events that had occurred years earlier.

"Sarah, what's 9/11?" her father asks. She responds, "Bad…fire…airplanes…building…hurt people."

Smith says there are other things deep in Scantlin’s brain that also survived the accident, such things as her favorite 1980s song "Summer Lovin’," which she even sings for The Early Show.

Comments

[lyssiae.livejournal.com]

WOW. Just...wow!

[bufo-viridis.livejournal.com]

A bit earlier there was another person waking up from a long coma. 27 years, I guess. I'd be curious to see PET scans results comparisons.

Terry Schiavo

[super-pan.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for friending me! You're my first friend. I would friend you too, but I don't know how. Anyway, I checked out your journal, and wanted to respond to this. Terry Schiavo represented a life or death issue which is so emotionally laden that it can never, ever truly be resolved. It is an issue relatively new to humans because of our technology. Most people in her situation would have died in eras before our advanced medical technology, which is both a blessing and a curse. Anyway, I just think that it's necessary to realize how important this issue is to people, whatever side of the fence they're on. Also, everyone should get a living will. My mom just had a heart attack and was in a coma. She had a living will that said she did not want that sort of life support. So we took her off. But because of her living will, the decision was made by her, and not my father (who had to give the word). Her brain damage was caused by lack of oxygen to her brain (due to the fact that she had in fact died, but had been revived later). Apparently comas due to oxygen deprivation are different from comas due to head trauma. Head trauma coma victims are more likely to recover. Anyway, sorry for the novel length post, but Terry Schiavo was very much on our minds during this time, especially since we were in Florida. Oh, and also important to remember: most politicians on either side are crumbums, and are just trying to make the other side look bad.

[gunderpants.livejournal.com]

Google the name 'Maria Korp'. It's a recent case in Australia. I can guarantee you that nothing will make you angrier in the entire world. Imagine a room full of rabid pro-choicers, union busters and militant atheists: that won't make you as angry as this case. Shit, this case even had me screaming at the TV.