
Trapped in His Body for 12 Years, a Man Breaks Free - bribri
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/09/376084137/trapped-in-his-body-for-12-years-a-man-breaks-free
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hsx
A warning to those who check comments first: this is a teaser, not the whole
thing.

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derekp7
Here's a link to the full transcript:
[http://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/375928124/dark-
thoughts](http://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/375928124/dark-thoughts) and
[http://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/375928581/locked-in-
man](http://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/375928581/locked-in-man)

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dghughes
There is video on YouTube where he is interviewed, he still can't speak though
but other than that he appears fine. Well, maybe not great he is in a
wheelchair too.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBFntsxK-
vc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBFntsxK-vc)

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V-2
> That was his first strategy — disengaging his thoughts — and he says he got
> really good at it.

> "You don't really think about anything," Martin says. "You simply exist.
> It's a very dark place to find yourself because, in a sense, you are
> allowing yourself to vanish."

Isn't that what certain Eastern schools of thought advocate? To unite with the
world, liberate from your ego, accept yourself as nothing more but a wave in
the vast ocean of consciousness?

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ca98am79
This is a good question. Just my two cents, but he says it is a "very dark
place" which I assume means bad. If so, then there must be some resistance or
dissatisfaction with his situation (not that I blame him). I think Eastern
schools of thought advocate something similar (i.e. allowing your self/ego to
vanish) but with complete acceptance of how things are, which leads to peace.

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jah
His story is featured on NPR's new Invisibilia podcast:
[http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=370...](http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=370162154)

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drinchev
It really reminds me of "Johnny Got His Gun" [1].

> He is a quadruple amputee who has also lost his eyes, ears, mouth and nose.
> He remains conscious and able to reason, but his wounds render him a
> prisoner in his own body.

Parts of this movie, btw, are included in the famous Metallica - One song.

1:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Got_His_Gun_(film)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Got_His_Gun_\(film\))

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PhantomGremlin
There was a quite famous sci-fi short story, published in 1967, with a similar
theme[1]: I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Perhaps it was also inspired by
the 1939 novel, Johnny Got His Gun?

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scr...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scream)

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zackmorris
"I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney," Martin says.

A deeper pit of hell is difficult to conceive.

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sean_grant
This is very interesting because I think a lot of people think wisdom and
personal self growth can only happen through human experiences, but just him
sitting there thinking about it helped him grow as a person. It's amazing what
the human mind can still do without the resources of a body.

~~~
iamcreasy
Yes, how he viewed the society and what he absorbed while he was going through
it in all these years, the experiences he had and how it affected his
thinking/reasoning - a conversation with him about these would be a rare
privilege. :)

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pstuart
I tuned into this as it was playing. I had to explain to my kids why I was
laughing (it was in regards to how his face hurt from smiling when thinking
about his wife -- I laughed because it was such a wonderful problem to have).

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Revisor
The story is remarkably similar to this Polish movie, based on a real story:

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Feels_Good](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Feels_Good)

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aaron695
In a troubling world were people believe in facilitated communication this is
not tackling this issue well at all.

There will always be a spiritual crazy pushing crazy beliefs, if he is
legitimately talking, sadly this needs to be explained exactly why it's not
the crazy 'facilitated communication'.

Any intelligent person on seeing the headline should think 'religious fever'.
This article is not explaining why it's not the case.

