From The Thoughtful Vegetable: For More Info, Go Here…
I was a consistent responder like Scott Routley. I waved my arm around like indicated in the video.
I didn’t speak back then when I had a stroke. I had a severe stroke. It should have left me dead. I did have to be resuscitated in the beginning of the stroke. My heart stopped during surgery. I already was on a ventilator because I stopped breathing much earlier. I didn’t breath on my own for months, but there are machines for that.
Eyes-closed coma was the first 5 weeks. After that it has been an open-eye coma. “Vegetative” is a coma with the eyes open. I am in a coma as I write this because I do not swallow barium for a barium swallow x-ray. (Writing is years after my stroke.)
I moved my left arm after the stroke. That was the arm that was rehabbed. I could move it consistently. I used it to communicate ‘yes/no.’ I remember using that arm to make the shaking ‘T’ sign in sign language for ‘toilet.’ Nurses responded by giving me the bedpan. That was the sign used in school by non-verbal kids to go to the bathroom.
I didn’t make any sound until close to the end of my first year after the stroke.
My insurance ran out and I was let go. I still qualified for the government medical program, but that is very basic. It only has to keep you alive. Building you up to full potential is out of the question. Private insurance and private pay do that.
I’m not a fancy-schmancy millionaire. This is how I didn’t make it to further research. I needed insurance and I didn’t have it.
I did it my way.
I taught myself to talk, not how to swallow. I didn’t know I was supposed to. The lack of swallow keeps me vegetative. I also taught myself how to type. I learned the ins and outs of the internet.
All the while other skills returned. I saw little use for a government program. I could communicate enough to be understood by family and loved ones. I had the medical training to keep a person alive. I could also rehabilitate a young child in some ways. I made the move for home and have been doing it my way since.
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I say I had no insurance, so I didn’t make it to research. A person can make it to research, but it is extremely difficult.
Are you in an area of research?
You have to be hitting a researched area. This can mean getting selected 6-12 months before you even hear about the issue. You’ll need to be psychic to depend on this.
Are you nearby?
You can’t be studied if you are not there.
Most important…
WHO IS PAYING?
