Coma Recovery After 19 Years Poses
Questions About Terri Schiavo

A Tale of Two Terries

By Peter J. Smith Mountain View, Arkansas,
July 4, 2006
(LifeSiteNews.com) – On Monday The Journal
of Clinical Investigation published new research
on the recovery of a brain damaged man from his
19 years in a minimally conscious state, adding to
the growing evidence that those with “hopelessly”
severe brain injuries may be able to recuperate
with therapy or other kinds of assistance.

The Journal’s research focuses on the sudden
recovery of Terry Wallis, who experienced a car
wreck in 1984 when he was 19 years old. The
accident sheared the nerve connections in his
brain, putting him in a minimally conscious
state (MCS) and rendering him a quadriplegic.
Terry, a young husband with a newborn child,
was considered a hopeless case, especially
considering that his family could not pay the
$120,000 needed to consult a neurologist
about any possibility of recovery. However
in 2003, during one of the regular visits of his
mother, who had regularly visited him at the
Rehabilitation Centre in Mountain View,
Arkansas, he made what seemed a sudden
recovery, and spoke “mom”, his first word
in 19 years.

The research indicates that Terry’s brain grew
new tiny nerve connections over time, creating
a new nerve network to replace the old one that
was severely damaged in the car accident. While
doctors and neurologists are still baffled as to
‘why’ Terry recovered, the doctors at the
rehabilitation centre have indicated that Terry’s
recovery might be attributed to the visits of his
family, who took him out on weekends and
special occasions. This may have acted as a
mental therapy to help his brain recover.

“He now seems exactly like his old self,” says
Jerry Wallis, Terry’s father. Over the 19 years
of Terry’s coma, both Jerry and his mother
Angilee had doubts at some time or another
about whether or not it was better for Terry to
be alive. However, now both are glad they
never caved into those doubts. Since then
they have seen their son make strides in his
recovery with the ambition of walking for his
daughter. “He very often tells us how glad he
is to be alive,” says Terry’s father.

Terry Wallis’ remarkable recovery after 19
years, however, stands in stark opposition to
the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who
received no therapy from her philandering
husband after her 1990 collapse. She was
instead dehydrated to death by court order in
March 2005. Although some doctors claim
that Terri Schiavo could not have made Terry
Wallis’ recovery since she was in a persistent
vegetative state (PVS), witnesses such as
former nurse Carla Iyer maintained that with
therapy, Schiavo, who said words like
“mommy, help me”, could have indeed
recovered over time.

New research on the ability of the brain to
recover over time questions the hastiness of
many in the medical profession to condemn
patients as irreversibly brain-dead or
damaged. Back in May, South African
researchers discovered a drug that helps
PVS patients temporarily recover to a fully
conscious state. In a BBC interview Dr. Ralf
Clauss, a scientist in nuclear medicine and
one of the drug researchers, stated that “For
every damaged area of the brain, there is a
dormant area, which seems to be a sort of
protective mechanism. The damaged tissue
is dead, there’s nothing you can do,” he
explained. “But it’s the dormant areas which
‘wake up’.”

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06070409.html

Original Article:

“Vegetative” Patient Shows Conscious
Awareness
Confirmed beyond any doubt she was
consciously aware of herself and her
surroundings

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/06090804.html

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