Man Misdiagnosed of Coma for 23 Years; Was Conscious All Those Times

No one wants to last a whole night having nightmares, so imagine being in a single nightmare for 23 years.

A Belgian engineering student was put into a deep coma and vegetative state after a car accident. He was in that condition for 23 years. However, he was conscious and has been able to hear all conversations around him during all those time.

It was Dr. Steven Laureys, a neurological researcher at the Liege University Hospital, who discovered that Rom Houben is conscious using brain scanning techniques despite the fact that he lost control of his body. His discovery now brings fears that there may be many similar cases around the world.

Houben, who now communicate using a specialized computer, said that he always dreamed of a better life, that frustration is too small of a word to describe what he had felt all those years and that he will never forget the day it was discovered what really is wrong with him and that it felt like it was second birth.