Attempting to give patients in a locked-in syndrome “their voice back”

By Dave Andrusko Before I started writing this post, I checked to see how many times NRL News Today had written about Dr. Adrian Owen, who is a Canadian Excellence Research Chair in cognitive neuroscience and imaging based at the University of Western Ontario’s Brain and Mind Institute. Today’s post will make 16 stories about …

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Dr. Adrian Owen attempting to give patients in a locked-in syndrome “their voice back”

By Dave Andrusko Before I started writing this post, I checked to see how many times NRL News Today had written about Dr. Adrian Owen, who is a Canadian Excellence Research Chair in cognitive neuroscience and imaging based at the University of Western Ontario’s Brain and Mind Institute. Today’s post will make 14 stories about …

Continue reading "Dr. Adrian Owen attempting to give patients in a locked-in syndrome “their voice back”"

Ingenious device allow researchers to “read the minds” of complete locked-in syndrome patients who say they are happy

By Dave Andrusko Of all the hundreds of stories we have written over the decades about patients with devastating brain injuries, this could be by far, the most amazing. ‘Locked-in syndrome’ is a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles in all parts of the body except for those that control up …

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Martin Pistorius, paralyzed, unable to speak, and dismissed as a “vegetable,” could hear everything, eventually “awoke” from locked-in syndrome

By Dave Andrusko A little over four years ago we reposted a story—remarkable in every sense of the word—of Martin Pistorius. Dr. Peter Saunders wrote The Sunday Times today tells the story of Martin Pistorius, a South African man who ended up paralyzed and comatose following a throat infection at the age of 12. His …

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Finding happiness in ways that we simply cannot imagine

By Dave Andrusko Editor’s note. If you want to peruse stories all day long, go directly to nationalrighttolifenews.org and/or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/daveha A Friday night tradition for my wife and I is to have dinner and attend a movie at a local “arts” theatre. As I scanned the menu of films, one …

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Paralyzed, unable to speak, and dismissed as a “vegetable,” Martin Pistorius could hear everything, eventually “awoke” from locked-in syndrome

  By Dave Andrusko A little over three years ago we reposted a story—remarkable in every sense of the word—of Martin Pistorius. Dr. Peter Saunders wrote The Sunday Times today tells the story of Martin Pistorius, a South African man who ended up paralyzed and comatose following a throat infection at the age of 12. …

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Life with locked-in syndrome – two more good news stories

The media has a tendency to focus on the negatives of profound disability by giving a hugely disproportionate level of coverage to disabled people who wish to end their lives and very little to the majority who actually value their lives. I try to highlight these good news stories on my blog and have previously …

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Most people with locked-in syndrome do not wish to die

By Dr. Peter Saunders Editor’s note. Dr. Saunders is a former general surgeon and CEO of Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organization with 4,500 UK doctors and 1,000 medical students as members. Tony Nicklinson is 58 and paralysed from the neck down after suffering a stroke in 2005. He is seeking legal permission for a …

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Locked-in syndrome case goes even beyond assisted suicide and seeks to establish dangerous precedent

By Dr. Peter Saunders Editor’s note. Dr. Saunders is a former general surgeon and CEO of Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organization with 4,500 UK doctors and 1,000 medical students as members. ~~~~~~~~~~~ A case of ‘locked-in syndrome’ that is appearing before the courts tomorrow goes even beyond assisted suicide and seeks to introduce euthanasia …

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Triumph over adversity: Why can’t we have more media stories like this?

By Dr. Peter Saunders There was a brilliant piece in the Independent [newspaper] yesterday, about a British DJ with locked-in syndrome, which deserves far wider circulation. ‘Locked in, but still lost in music: UK’s bravest DJ’ tells the story of Bram Harrison, 34, who suffered brain damage two weeks before his 21st birthday after falling …

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Case of locked-in syndrome seeks to establish dangerous precedent

By Dr. Peter Saunders Legal action brought by a locked-in syndrome sufferer, who wants a doctor to be able to end his ‘intolerable’ life lawfully, can go ahead following a judge’s ruling Monday. The Ministry of Justice had previously argued that the case should be struck out on the grounds that it is a matter …

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Alistair Banks: the incurable optimist – an inspiring story of courage in the face of motor neurone disease

Editor’s note. This appears on the blog of the Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organization. Recently I blogged about Martin Pistorius – an inspiring story of faith, hope and love in the face of locked-in syndrome. It was equally refreshing to read today in the Daily Telegraph the story of a man with motor neurone …

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