‘Vegetative’ Man Has His Say

Scott Routley hasn’t spoken or even followed family members with his eyes since his car accident 12 years ago. But he managed to indicate to doctors this spring that he was not in pain.

And he did it by imagining his playing tennis as researchers watched for certain areas of his brain scan to light up during an fMRI, something he and neuroscientist Adrian Owen worked out as a signal for “no” over a series of sessions. The breakthrough technique proved Routley isn’t in a vegetative state, as doctors thought. He’s aware of the world around him.

“Some people can look like they’re vegetative but still have awareness inside their head. I think it’s a very important finding,” said Bryan Young, the neurologist at University Hospital in London, Ontario, who has treated Routley for the past decade.

“It really made the point to me that we need to go beyond the clinical evaluation to be conclusive about whether a patient is really in a vegetative state or not.”

Young met Routley, 39, after he came out of his coma 10 years ago. The car-crash victim had severe damage to both brain hemispheres, and woke up in what doctors thought to be a vegetative state, which the Mayo Clinic defines as resulting from severe brain damage and renders a person “unaware of his or her surroundings.”

#medical

There’s nothing more worse than a snotty hippie.

#insights

#photos #easter

Rapper Andre Johnson severs penis, jumps off building, survives

Police have reported that Andre Johnson, a rapper reportedly associated with the Wu-Tang Clan family, severed his penis and then jumped off a building in North Hollywood early Wednesday morning. Despite being severely injured, Johnson survived the fall from the second level of the building.

Authorities were able to rush Johnson and his recovered penis to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he is currently being treated, according to Los Angeles Police Sgt. William Mann.

Despite early reports made by CNN stating that Jonson is a member of Northstar, a Long Beach, Calif.-based hip-hop group that was part of the Wu-Tang family, according to the Wu-Tang Clan’s own website, the hip-hop group is now claiming that Johnson has no affiliation with them.

There’s no going back once you cut off your own penis.

#meanwhile

This is what I’ve been listening to this here work day…

joeyfehrenbach.com

#musicvideos

Rogue alcoholic court reporter kept writing ‘I hate my job’

An alcoholic Manhattan court stenographer went rogue, channeling his inner “Shining” during a high-profile criminal trial and repeatedly typing, “I hate my job, I hate my job” instead of the trial dialogue, sources told The Post.

The bizarre antics by Daniel Kochanski, who has since been fired, wreaked havoc on some 30 Manhattan court cases, sources said, and now officials are scrambling to repair the damage.

One high-level source said his “gibberish” typing may have jeopardized hard-won convictions by giving criminals the chance to claim crucial evidence is missing.

Kochanski’s botched transcripts include the 2010 mortgage-fraud trial of Aaron Hand, who was also convicted of trying to hire a hit man to take out a witness against him.

A source familiar with the case said Kochanski’s transcripts of that trial were a total mess.

“It should have been questions and answers — instead it was gibberish,” the source said.

And in a scene right out of 1980’s “The Shining,” where Jack Nicholson’s off-the-rails writer repeatedly types “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” a source said of Kochanski: “He hit random keys or wrote, ‘I hate my job. I hate my job. I hate my job,’ over and over.”

#theshining #animatedGIFs #worknews #alcholism

I can’t believe it’s snowing…

#photos #weather

“Political Views” – Marco.org

Opponents of gay marriage (and other equal rights and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people) consider their opposition a valid “political view”, appealing to the already completely wrong and extremely destructive idea that all opinions on an issue are equally valid and deserve equal time and representation in media and public discourse.

“Beliefs” and “views” deserve no inherent protection, validity, or value to the rest of society simply because they’re political or religious. They’re just opinions, and just as many opinions are worth considering and discussing, many others are offensive, crazy, ignorant, or bigoted.

#LGBT #politics

I got a new stylus for my tablet and this is my first master piece.

#arts #screenshots

Astronauts, dragons, and more with this writers group — they got everything.

I’m also sure the flier below it is completely coincidental.

I’M NOT JUDGING ANYBODY HERE.

#photos #meetups