Man diagnosed as "Comatose" was aware of everything for 23 years.

Paralyzed man was aware, but couldn't respond due to paralysis.

Popular Science Article

This sounds like a nightmare.  

Imagine hearing everybody discuss his condition, perhaps discussing pulling the plug, harvesting organs, etc.

An excerpt:

Quote :

Belgian neurologist Steven Laureys has published a paper on Houben's ordeal suggesting that his case is not isolated. According to his study, as many as 40 percent of cases diagnosed as vegetative may indeed possess enough consciousness to not only communicate, but to actually make considerable progress with the right treatment. Of 44 "vegetative" patients Laureys analyzed, 18 ended up responding to communication.

Makes the living will debate a little more complicated.

Exactly!

I have always believed that people in comas could hear people around them but were unable to respond... Even if they don't remember after they wake up. Sorta like a dream... some you remember, others you don't.

Another horror story...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/patient-awoke-doctors-errantly-preparing-remove-her-organs-141547610.html

Quote :

Not everyone looks forward to a visit to the doctor. And some people even have an irrational fear of hospitals.

But sometimes things do, in fact, go horribly wrong, as in the case of a Syracuse, New York, resident who awoke during a trip to the emergency room to find that doctors were mistakenly preparing to remove her organs.

The Post-Standard reports that in October 2009, Colleen S. Burns was taken to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital Center, suffering from a drug overdose. Although a nurse told doctors that Burns was recovering from her overdose, those same doctors pronounced her dead.

A call was placed to her family informing them that Burns had passed away, and the family subsequently agreed to have her removed from life support and gave the hospital clearance to harvest her organs.

But Burns was not dead. In fact, a number of signs clearly pointed to her being alive. When a nurse performed a mandatory reflex test on Burns, her toes curled downward. She appeared to be breathing independently of a hospital respirator, and her lips and tongue were said to have moved moments before doctors prepared to remove her organs.

Nonetheless, the nurse then followed instructions to give Burns a powerful sedative, a seemingly unnecessary move if the patient were actually dead.

Unfortunately, Burns was successful in committing suicide later...

I see comatose people in WalMart shopping every visit I make.

Think about wanting water, but can't ask for it. That simple thing for years on end. Worse than a nightmare.

I have read about a lot of people waking up during surgery. There are situations when a you may want to ask yourself, "what if a lawyer really could help people"?