Awakenings: Return To Life

Some Minimally Conscious People Are Actually Re-Awakening Thanks To Drug Therapies

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Nov. 25, 2007. It was updated on Aug. 28, 2008.

Three years ago, Terri Schiavo sparked a nationwide debate when she was removed from a feeding tube. Schiavo was in a permanent vegetative state with no chance of recovery. But there are as many as 300,000 other Americans who have survived brain injuries, only to be trapped in what's called a "minimally conscious state." They can't talk, walk, or eat, but they retain more mental awareness than vegetative patients.

For decades now, minimally conscious people have been all but written off by the medical establishment, warehoused in nursing homes, with little hope of recovery. But as CNN's Anderson Cooper first reported last fall, incredible new discoveries are changing the way doctors view these people.

It turns out some may have been misdiagnosed and may be more aware than previously thought. What's even more surprising is that after receiving the popular sleeping pill Ambien, some minimally conscious people are actually waking up.

---

Don Herbert was a firefighter in Buffalo, N.Y. On Dec. 29, 1995, he was battling a house fire when the building's roof collapsed. Don was trapped under a pile of debris and nearly suffocated. A local news camera captured firefighters pulling Don from an attic window. By the time his wife Linda and four sons reached the hospital, Don was already in a coma.

"I remember pleading and begging with him in the hospital when he was unresponsive just, 'Don't leave me, don't leave the kids, you know. We need you, you know. We need you,'" Linda Herbert recalls.

"You'd try to get him to squeeze your hand or move a toe, or something like that it’s just, we were looking for just about anything," Don and Linda's son, Don Jr. remembers.

Don Herbert did regain consciousness, but a few months later slipped into a minimally conscious state. He could respond to some stimuli but was unable to communicate. Moved to a nursing home, he was kept alive by a feeding tube.

"I took him to one neurologist. And I was basically begging him, you know, to tell me, 'Is he gonna get better, or isn’t he?'" Linda remembers. "And he just sort of said, 'Well, look at him. What do you see? You see what I see, there’s nothing there.' And I was just devastated."

While Don languished in the nursing home, years passed and his four boys grew into men. Determined to keep their father in their lives, Linda brought Don to birthdays and holidays, but says he sat slumped in his wheelchair, unaware of his surroundings.

What was it like for the sons to see their father in this state?

"You'd think after ten years of seeing him hooked up to feeding tubes and different machines that you’d sort of get used to it or something. But here, I really never did," Don Jr. explains.

"Yeah. It made me sick to my stomach to go every, you know. I didn’t go that often 'cause I just couldn’t stand seeing him like that," Tom says.

Then one day, two years ago, the nursing home called with shocking news: Don had woken up and was asking for his family.

One of the nurses lent the Herberts a video camera to record Don's incredible awakening. His first words were a struggle -- he hadn’t spoken in nearly a decade.

Family members and buddies from the firehouse rushed to Don's room. Blinded in the accident, Don recognized everyone by their voice -- everyone that is, except his youngest son Nick, who was just four when his dad was injured.

"Did he understand who you were?" Cooper asks Nick.

"He still thought that I was real young. And he went to -- like, put his hand out over me and to see, like, how tall I was," Nick says. "We just kept telling him to raise his hand higher, 'cause he was trying to feel for me down low."

"When he learns that he has been gone for ten years, he seems heartsick about it," Cooper remarks. "The sadness is palpable."

"He felt so bad," Linda says. "He thought, like, he abandoned us. He felt so bad that he wasn't there for the boys."

Don Herbert's reunion with his family was brief. While trying to get out of bed, he fell and suffered another brain injury. He later contracted pneumonia, and less than a year after he woke up, Don Herbert died.

[ntidwell1]

I thought Patch Adams was having results like this years ago.

[copley417-2009]

Your segment on patients in a minimally conscious state was intriguing. Anderson Cooper''s reporting was balanced and appropriate. I was relieved that all involved in this report were cautiously optimistic. Maybe there will be a time in the future that from the world of functional MRI, PET scanning and the like, we will have more insights into what can be offered to brain disabled patients. Thank you.

My concern is that anyone would use this info as an excuse to allow their loved one to be kept alive by the health care system in order to wait for a ''cure''. We are YEARS away from such a thing...

Pediatric Critical Care Specialist
Ohio, USA

ntidwell1 , sorry, it wasn''t Patch Adams, it was Dr. Oliver Sacks

[blitzen121]

Did anyone say that a doctor perscribed the ambien for the patient? Or did you get what i got? - mom couldn''t take the kid moaning so she gave him a sleeping pill. Ambien is a controlled substance - if no doctors order what she did was a crime. If he had a bad reaction she''d be in another type of story...wouldn''t she?! The interview said that mom increased the dose - is she a doctor? Shame on CBS for this item. How many desperate caregiviers are searching for internet ambien right now? How many invalids are being doped up by their caregivers this week because they saw it on tv. If anyone dies i hope they blame CBS. Shame on you 60 min!

[cjascher]

The November 25th segment Awakenings was great! I am 28 years old today and I suffered a severe closed head injury when I was 15. I was given less than a 1% chance of living when the accident occured. I had to relearn how to walk, talk and speak as if I was starting from infancy.
Although the story''s premise was not on head injuries, both of the patients in the story had suffered a form of the injury. There are thousands of head injuries that occur weekly either through car, sporting, job-related and elderly accidents. Many individuals don''t make it through the terrifying parts of a head injury while others do.The healing process is owed in great part to medicine but I know that a great part of the process is also mindpower.

[msjaxs]

I in 1997 had a traumic brain injury and doctors told ny mother I would be in an vegetative state if I lived.
This was April and by June I took my first steps. After that my life changed.
Ten years later I live on my own although I still can''t do somethings for myself and haven''t spoken since then and never may that''s up to God.
I take Ambin to help me sleep and there''s some nights it doesn''t help.
Doctors are not God and should not tell people what will not be, because in all in they don''t know what could happen.

[stardust924]

Anderson Cooper is a first rate journalist and it is great to see him covering important issues like tonight%u2019s "Awakenings" report.

It is frightening to think that someone could be literally trapped inside their body with virtually no way to communicate with the outside world for years at a time. Hopefully the results of these new drug therapies will force the medical community to take a closer look at those who would have been or have been previously misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state. It will be interesting to see if cost will have any bearing on whether or not someone is reevaluated.

If these treatments can be administered in the early stages of an accident maybe they can prevent or lessen the severity of these types of injuries.

These cases are truly remarkable.

[micson9999]

Your article states that there are several clinical trials of Ambien underway, but that progress is slow, because participants are scattered across the nation. As journalists, you should have gone further, and provided a contact number for families with a loved one that wish to participate in one of these trials. In my opinion, 60 Minutes dropped the ball here... why was this vital information not included? Can anyone provide this?

Please, I have a 29 year old son who might benefit from this. He has been in a state comparable to the men in this segment for almost 25 years. When my son was 4 and a half years old a nurse anethesist let him go without oxyygen for 13 minutes during a "routine" eartube/adnenoid surgery. He is total care, we have cared for him most of the time at home. The pediatric care specialist above from Ohio above probably knows our family and was talking about us. We would love to have the neurologist in this segment see our son- study him and try ambien with him.

[sethin-2009]

I feel the subject of MCS was very well covered by Mr. Anderson. Few minimally conscious patients "wake up" and the challenge is to identify these patients early on from those that are going to remain in a persistently vegetative state. Unfortunately we still cannot identify these patients with certanity.
This should have been stressed in the news segment lest we end up giving false hopes to families.
N Sethi
New York, NY

[dcooper1964]

I''m very eager to know what could I do to get infomation for my niece that has fallen to this illness three years ago that has left her in a vegetable state,from a asthma attack three years ago. She has three beautiful young children. My wife and I have adopted the two oldest. Help them please.

[sagangc]

I also would like more information about how to locate studies for this problem. My Father suffered bilateral subdural hematomas, resulting in brain damage. I realize his problem is not as severe as others, but as his daughter and now care taker, I would love to see him improve. Where can this information be found?

[zazzoo812]

This is a message to Linda and the boys .... I knew your dad from High School .. We played baseball on the high school team .... I left Buffalo in 1986. I lost track of Donny and had no idea this had happened. My deepest condolences. The story was very touching. I will buy the book for sure. The one thing I wanted to pass along to all of you was the fond memories I have of Donny before seeing this piece and it affirms that he was a good man, husband, father and friend. Linda ...I hope you get to see this posting. I prayers are with you all.... Bill ... [e-mail]

[dj924]

I just seen the report on *Awakenings* tonight. I have a sister in a nursing home, tramatic brain injury due to a car accident 21 yrs ago. I know she is semi aware of her surroundings,and knows family members. But she is unable to speak, eat, walk, etc, yes 100% disabled. I would so much like more info on this, I know in my heart she is a canidate for this. If only people would take the time and find where many people like her are, yes in nursing home or other types of care facilities. Please I would like so very much for someone to some how get back to me, I so much want more info on this.

[Elaine Munoz]

My son is 30. He has a closed head injury. He is presently taking Ambien. There has not been significant change is his condition. We have seen him slightly more alert. I am not giving up and hope to see more studies on this treatment. Drs. will soon increase his dosage. This has given us more hope. But I am realistic. I would love to hear from George''mom or other family members who are trying the ambien.

[Elaine Munoz]

I made a comment about this treatment and asked to hear from other family members who are trying this treatment. My son is 30 and trying the treatment. I am Emunozleyva. [e-mail]

[annwood3]

I have a very close friends whose daughter has a brain injury from a car accident.She is now in a nursing home and it seems she is trapped in her body. We know she hears us and sometimes will nod her head but we can not find anyone that will help us. Recently she had to be taken to Winston to have a drain removed from her eye and they gave her something to relax her and all of a sudden she had the most wonderful smile on hr face and tole her mother "I love you too" and also said my name but that was the end of it. We wondered if it was the medicine but noone would tell us it was possible. She can not walk, talk or eat. She is on a feeding tube and they find all kinds of excuses not to give her any therapy. Where do we go from here. I know she is in there but we can''t get any help on how to help.

[tristaboo]

Dear Anderson Cooper, Your story tonight on the Ambian Sleep Drug really touched our hearts. You see our 17 month old boy is in the hospital. He has been there for 75 days today and he is in a coma. He was a submersive drowning victim. The doctors have been telling us that there is nothing they can do for him except leaving him in the condition he is in. He is on a vent with 30% of a liter of oxygen everyday and he has a g-tube for eating. The doctors are very unsympithetic towards us about our sons condition. His diagnosis is called, Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy or Anoxic Brain Disorder. We have asked the hospital to perform different procedures on our son to try and wake him up, but they look at us like idiots and refuse every wish we ask for. We wanted to know if the doctor that you interviewed, Dr. Shiff, would be able to help us with our son. We have been trying to get our son into rehab clinics all over the U.S. and we have got shot down by at least 10, because none of them take children on vents. Please help us in our time of need and help our son out. God Bless.

Joe Isserles and Maria Polizzi
Davenport, Fl

[clean_air]

I have a daughter who has suffered a severe head injusry 16 years ago in a motor vehicle accident. She is severely brain injured, as in your story. She was given the diagnosis of persistant vegitative state, the state''s definition-no services would be bennificial. She has been to many neuroligist to change to the appriopriate diagnosis of minimal conscious state, and now recieves a few services each month. A long and uphill battle with the system.

[margiesj]

Doctor Margaret Ayers does treatment through neuropathways EEG treatment. www.neuropathways.com She has been able to get people out of comas and travels on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to different cities to treat people. I suffered severe head trauma in a head-on collision in 1989 where I had a subdural hematoma and was in a coma. Per Dr. Ayers, after my diagnosis I have severe brain damage she doesn''t know how I''m functioning and said I was a walking miracle. Due to my head trauma I suffer from migraines and have had migraines that have lasted up to 6 days. Doctor Ayers is now treating me to help repair my brain, this has no side effects like medicine has. The FDA does not recognize her because she would put Pharmaceutical companies out of business. ""No one has done more to alert us to the fact that the symptoms of head injured patients can be reduced or eliminated through neurofeedback therapy than Margaret Ayers (1981, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995a, 1995b). Her creative and bold approach together with her specialized instrumentation has made her a courageous pioneer." Alvah P. Byers, Ed.D, from The Byers Neurotherapy Reference Library, Second Edition, page 118. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 1998"" Doctor Ayers is an amazing woman and has done this to help as many people as she can such as those who suffer from Autism, seizures, trauma from birth, head injuries, strokes, comas, etc...

[aj19871]

Dear sirs. I just watched your show on the brain and the use of ambien. I have a severly disabled son 20 years old that has seizures, he lost 99% of his abilty to speak after having brain surgey in 1999. Could ambien possible help my son? Is is possible to speak to Dr. Schiff or is thier a way for me to contact someone at cornell medical center? Thanks Tony M.

[clean_air]

TO: PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE SPECIALIST IN OHIO USA
I truely resent the words spoken by Pediatric Critical Care Specialist from Ohio USA. My daughter is a severely brain injured girl living her life in a geriatric nursing home. This was not my dream for my child, rather this is my nightmare.We are not looking for an "excuse" to keep our loved ones alive by the health care system. We are looking for answers, research, cures, etc for our loves ones, much like the hope and research for cures for cancer, strokes, spinal cord injury, etc.
Please rethink, just why are you in the health care profession? Are you God to decide which of your patients should be kept alive by the healthcare system?
Perhaps you could encourage research for TBI in your field of work, instead of thinking these injuried patients are a burden on our health care system.
Shame on you! I would hope my loved one is never your patient.
P.S. I, also, am also in the healthcare field, and all my patients are deserving of equal health care services.

[jpsomers1]

My sister, Lesley, suffered a head injury from a car accident in 1990, and has been in an incapacitated state ever since until Thanksgiving Day, when she passed away.
I am optimistic for all those who could be candidates for such therapy, but devastated I did not know about this treamtment to persue it as a possibility for my sister.
I am having a very difficult time with this under the circumstances, and would appreciate any input that you may have in regards to this treatment, or general thoughts, for that matter.
[e-mail]

[canon2501]

My Mom fell into a coma about three months ago. We were told that the cause was unknown but that she has encephalitis and will not recover. She was at cedars with some of the best doctors and they tried all conventional medicines, given they did not know the cause. She is unconscious in a nursing home and without any medication, only a feeding tube. She is 68 years old. If anyone has any info on the studies or treatments that may help I would greatly appreciate. She is a wonderful loving woman.

David

[canon2501]

My Mom fell into a coma about three months ago. We were told that the cause was unknown but that she has encephalitis and will not recover. She was at cedars with some of the best doctors and they tried all conventional medicines, given they did not know the cause. She is unconscious in a nursing home and without any medication, only a feeding tube. She is 68 years old. If anyone has any info on the studies or treatments that may help I would greatly appreciate. She is a wonderful loving woman.

David

[gwiltz]

Two years ago my son was a passenger in a car which struck a tree. He was in coma like state with a head injury for over 8 mths total. The first two mths were a deep coma which he had started to emerge from after being given a drug called Provigal (used mainly for elderly people with narcolepsy.) Moving his right side only he was able to hold and track pictures with his eyes. He would turn his head when his name was called. He transfered hospital and the new doctor took him off that drug and he went back in to a vegetative state for 6 mths. Months after he emerged from his coma the second time was given Ambien by the same doctor one night to help him sleep. That night he was bouncing off the walls. I was sleeping in a chair next to the bed with my head close to the bottom of his bed. He kept tapping me on the head with his foot, pulling himself up to a sitting postion and moaning in a silly way (he was having fun). He also seemed to understand simple commands. None of this he could do before. Since that day he has had slow progress but still can not sit up on his own like that night. I have asked the doctor to give him the Ambien but he said he could not do that unless it was for sleep. I think it is time to find a doctor will!

[grammawhamma]

I''m a RN. Hope is always a good thing and I see all the hope pouring out on these posts by people who have loved ones who are in a comatose state. Miracles do happen...this I don''t deny. Talk to your loved ones (even when you get no response)...I think they can hear you and can comprehend what you are saying.

But on the other hand...I think it''s wrong to keep your loved ones alive by artificial means for years and years just waiting for a cure or just because you want them to continue to live.

Put yourself in their shoes...would you want that kind of life? Waiting to be turned every two hours to prevent bed sores, diapered, washed, fed thru a tube, maybe even breathing on a vent? I am a patient advocate and I am not saying this for financial reasons.

Posters: it is important to decide and discuss your "Living Will" when you are still healthy and young and then hope your family follows your wishes in the event something happens to you.

My best wishes to all the posters who have ill loved ones.

[grammawhamma]

insrd: I would find a doctor to try the Ambien. There is no reason not to try it.

[janzee2]

I found this story very interesting. The reason is that while I or anyone I know suffers from a brain injury, I take occasionally take Ambien to help me sleep. What I''ve notice is that if I''m not in bed while the Ambien takes effect - playing on the computer, etc., I find that I have a sudden surge of enery (although sleepy) and will start to do other things such as re-arranging books in a bookshelf and other things like that that I would normally do at bedtime. Ater watching your show I am now thinking thatthis due to taking the Ambien. I would be interested to know if there are others that have these experiences where the brain suddenly become actibe.

[mcvet]

The only thing I see a problem with in this is the fundies in the Religious Reich. They will take this as justification to yet again try to interfer with families and their personal decisions. THAT we can all count on folks as surely as the sun came up this morning one of these Toe Tappers is already working up a way to get money out of his "Followers" and that will most certainly include "Protecting" those in this condition. Sieg Heil and Amen.

[saulharris3]

I have a 18 year old son who has a brain injury.
He has "Hydocheplus". He lived a normal life until
Dec 2002 (13 at the time), his shunt malfunction, then develop into 4 strokes which left him total disable. he can not walk or talk and has a feeding tube. After the first 2 to 3 months he regain his verbal skills which the doctors could not believe.
Then he suffer a massive seizure which the doctor had
to put his brain in a semi-coma state. Once out the
semi-coma state he has never spoken another word, that''s been almost 5 years. How would I get in touch
with Dr. Schiff and get more info on "Ambien"?
[e-mail]/
THANK YOU!!!

[ruthannmyers]

i have a 30 year old daughter, that when she was 16, a drunk driver caused a car accident and she ended up in coma for 9 months, when she woke up, they told me she had brain stem sherring. i would like to get hold of the dr and ask him if this would help her. she is like terri in fl.

[rjkte]

I find it interesting how some meds act in reverse in certain situations and I think more research should be done in this area. For example, I have chronic fatigue... because of chronic pain, I take a narcotic every morning (which *should* make me tired). No it doesn''t, BUT on the days that I don''t take the narcotic, I am overwhelmed by fatigue. Also, it seems the same concept applied to how they treat kids with ADHD (not that I agree with zipping them up on amphetamines). It is a fascinating concept.

[teetarsha]

I am so happy that the news finally aired a positive show about loved ones dealing with brain injuries. My mother suffered a ruptured aneursym of the brain nine years ago. She was comatose for about 4 months and we decided to bring her home and take care of her ourselves instead of placing her in a nursing. She came home with a trach and a feeding tube in her stomach. The trach has been removed but she remains with the feeding tube. She can''t talk or walk...however she does point and make noises. My constant prayer is one day she will just blurt out my name or something. We have not given up hope. I am going to mention Ambien to her doctor when we go for her next visit.

[deemsnyd]

The only thing I see a problem with in this is the fundies in the Religious Reich. They will take this as justification to yet again try to interfer with families and their personal decisions. THAT we can all count on folks as surely as the sun came up this morning one of these Toe Tappers is already working up a way to get money out of his "Followers" and that will most certainly include "Protecting" those in this condition. Sieg Heil and Amen.

Posted by MCVet

MCVet, OMG, Which religious affiliation did this? What was their angle? Please explain!!!

[xlib]

Too little to late for terri schiavo. Love the way the left slams the right for voicing thier opinions yet it''s ok for them to do the same. As for family and schiavo, her hubby had moved on long ago while her parents wanted to care for her. So, just who was overly zealous in this??

[shirleyanng]

amazing!!! Love stories like this, makes a person believe in miracles!

[deemsnyd]

XLIB OR MCVet,

Someone please explain to me which horrible religious sect tried to make money from Teri''s case, and worse yet, is trying to protect people in this vegetative state!! We need to know so we can all protect ourselves from the dreaded Christains. (If it was them)

[pashon365]

It is with much angst that I type these words for fear of crying yet again. I watched the story that aired last evening after my ex husband called and told me it was on. The story had not gotten off the ground before I saw the firefighter surrounded by his family and I broke down in tears. Not because it was so touching, but because my own child, now 19, has lived that way his entire life and I have been defenseless to do anything about it. I was 15 when I had him and 16 when the doctors told me that he would be dead by the time he turned 5. They didn''t know why his brain wasn''t developing.

For 13 yrs I was his mother and care provider. My mother was with me, and still is, helping me to take care of him -- only now he is living in a nursing home where he can get care around the clock.

I gave up believing that my son would ever throw a ball or hold his own spoon or even whisper my name - or even acknowledge my presence -- I accepted everything about him, even now.

Thank you for airing that story because even in the face of hopelessness and frustration -- my soul was made full and restored by the hopes of those that were able to see their babies eyes affixed upon them -- if only for a while. I would give my very life to hear my son whisper my name -- my life. But, if that never happens -- after seeing what other people have experienced I will rest in knowing that someone has enjoyed that privilege -- even if it''s not me.

Thank you and God bless.

Tashana in Columbus, OH.

[jnewlon61]

I was very fascinated by this story. My son had a car accident 11 months ago and is a minimally conscious state. He does understand what you say to him and is following more and more with his eyes and blinking when you ask him question. I have always believed there is hope for him and refused to give up. He is 26 years old and has a young intelligent brain. He got off of the ventilator 2 months after his accident and then off the trach acouple of months after that. He is breathing on his own and has shown suttle improvments in awareness and alertness through the grace of god. I would like to have more information on this research and who to contact for help for my son.

[perm3800]

The problem with such stories is expressed in many of the comments. Most families really do not understand the diagnoses given them and, as noted in the article, 20-40% of diagnoses in neurology cases may be wrong. The lady with the child who has brain stem shearing obviously does not understand her child''s diagnosis (although, with a still-breathing child, brain stem shearing seems an unlikely diagnosis.) The woman with the severely disabled son with hydrocephaly and mutliple strokes and a major seizure also doesn''t understand the story or her son''s diagnosis.

Ambien works only where the damage to the brain is electrical. When the damage is structural (as in the child with the cut brain stem or the young man with the blood-starved brain areas from repeated strokes,) Ambien does not work.

For the poor lady whose child has a sheared brain stem: depending on what other damage happened, your child may, in fact, have higher brain function but without the physical connection between the brain and the body that is the brain stem, there is no way to express those functions. While the eyes directly link into the brain, the muscles that operate them do not. Keep talking to your child, keep stimulating your child through vision, sound and taste but realize that there is no way for your child to respond. Providing the stimulation will help reduce the boredom of being trapped in your head (possibly quite literally in this child''s case.)

[usnocky]

This is an amazing story. I have a dad who was diagnosed this past March as having CJD, Cruetzfeldt-Jakobs Disease, an extremely rare brain disease that is fatal. I am not sure if his state would be consisdered vegetative or partially conscious. He cannot speak, or walk but he can still eat a little and swallow. He eats a lot of food that is blended. Just this morning I was praying to God for some miracle and my friend and sister-in-law alerted me to this segment of 60 minutes. What are the chances that this could work for my Dad. I am emailing his doctor right now as well as the doctor from Cornell. THANK YOU!!

[lovelyaddy]

My father suffer a sever brain damage 18 months ago due to malaria. I was told by the doctors that he is in a vegetated state. I was told that he will spend his rest of his life that way. My fathers turn 50 years old last July 4th. I beg the god everyday for some kind of miracle. When I saw this piece, I ask myself if I could be able to her my dad say my name one last time or even see his first grandson. I will try to contact the doctors and see if there is a miracle for him. My father has never been sick to the point that he would be admitted into the hospital. From my knowledge this is his first illness that toke him away from us. It is had to visit him at the Nursing home. I drive from Philadelphia Pa every weekend to see my father in New York. But I am hoping that one day he will wake up and see our faces.

[denn034]

This is a good development. Here''s hoping that "drug therapy" doesn''t replace one problem with another as has been the case with other drugs recently.

[rocmax56]

I was called today and told about this story. My son had a car accident that took my mothers life and left my son in this semi coma state. I wanted to know exactly what state this Dr. Schiff to see if my son is a candidate for this type of treatment. Also, if there is anyway possible to reach this Mr. Flores, she has proven to be a strong, patient, and honorable mother. Amoung all of us that have been suffering and seeing our loved ones in this condition. My son is my only child, and I live in hope that God will grant him a miracle and bring him back to us, this is my prayer each and every day.

So, if anyone can please has any information concerning this doctor please send to [e-mail]

God bless you

[jenewing1]

This August my fiance Waylon had suffered a massive heart attack, which left him in a comma for a week and then other health problems began. He started having seizure''s and high blood pressure and a high pulse. He was in and out of the icu. The doctor''s took cat-scans and eeg''s when we got the result''s of the eeg''s the doctor told us that most of the anoxic brain damage was suffered in the front part of his brain. They told us that Waylon would never get the trac or the feed tube out and that he would have to live the rest of his life out in a hospital type atmosphere. Now mind you he''s only 26 year''s old. We don''t know why he had the heart attack we just know that he did. Waylon was sent to a remarkable hospital in Dayton Ohio called Kindred and the doctor''s there started working with Waylon''s problems not his symptom''s like the previous hospital. They have gotten his seizure''s, blood pressure and pulse under control. Early november Waylon got the trac out and we got to bring him home on November the 9th. He is doing very well, but still cannot communicate with us or can he move any of his body. His sister called us Sunday November 25th and told us about the special 60 minute''s showed about the mother and her son with the Ambien. We are gonna try it and see how it work''s.

[kdlatson]

I would like to first say thank you to all of you out there who saw the segment and saw it for what it is...a miracle. Pat is a wonderful woman and an adoring mother! George is and always was a wonderful God fearing man with so much to offer the world! I have been in love with him since I was 17, and know that there will never be another man like him! To those of you who try to dig too deep into the segment and say things like Pat is just giving George drugs and ridiculous things of that nature should know that first of all, the ambien was PRESCRIBED by a doctor so that George could rest at night, the effects he received were found after it was given for that purpose. As for increasing his dosage, yes, that was done by a doctor too! Hello, people!!! Get a grip, when segments like this are aired there is SO MUCH that is not! The cameras followed George and his family for FIVE DAYS! The interview with Anderson Cooper was about 2 hours! Is that what you saw on tv...obviously not! You have to watch it and see what is meant to be portrayed...the MIRACLE George has received, NOT the *** that idiots pull out to try to be funny!!! Imagine yourself in the same situation...this is real life, and people have feelings! Again, though, thank you to all of you who are praying for George and his family, and I hope that the people who saw this for what it is also receive the miracles that they are looking for!

[hope4hopeles]

There is hope AND it is good to see the media portray this perspective.
My mother, five years ago was in a car accident and had a TBI- she is still in a minimally conscious state, but still smiles at my Dad''s silliness, and when she hears and sees friends and family she has not seen for awhile. She also tracks with her eyes and will lokk right at us when we talk to her occassionally. She lives at home, where my Dad, me and my three sisters, and her friends help care for her.
As far as those that discourage keeping people like my Mom alive- sorry to hear feel that way. I could not disagree more and don''t believe you can really say that you can speak for all situacions especially when you have never first hand seen the hope in the situacions- it is there if you look for it.
For those that know the experience first hand- there is hope, you don''t always find it in the places were you think it may be.
Our family will try the ambien and getting in touch with different doctors, but do not place all of our hope in that alone.
Good luck to all of those trying it. It is good to know there are others who know what my family has and does go through. Thank you 60 minutes for the enlightening perspective and information.

[jccindy1]

This is an awesome show, my son has been in a nursing home for 5 years now with a brain injury from being hit by a drunk driver while walking, I have never given up hope that some day there might be something that would help him, he can point his fingers and has certain ones for certain people, I want to thank 60 Minutes for the information and I am in hopes that I can get his doctor''s to take a look at this. Thanks again for this information

[dlynn14]

My brother was in a car accident that left him in a minimally conscious state for the last seven years. We had done everything to hepl him. We have now started play for him healing music. He really seems to be responing to it. But this story has put new hope in my family''s hearts. He trail us with his eyes and blink yes or no to questions. He also makes noises some times. He has been through so many infections but he always seems to get through it with heart. He is my hero and he is the reason I myself have decided to go into medicine. I would love to have information on this research and on who to contacted to help my brother.