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A neurologist from Washington, D.C., an autonomic nervous system specialist from Philadelphia and a neuron-psychologist and psycho-pharmacologist -- both from Manhattan -- have spent a lot of time with Steven Domalewski lately.  They, and others, have been at his bedside in a Paterson hospital, using cutting-edge treatments while trying to bring the 12-year-old pitcher out of a coma."He's progressing at a really good rate," Dr. Philip De Fina said Friday. "He has definitely improved. His alertness has improved. His dad has been feeding him little bits of Italian ice, and he's breathing very well on his own."  De Fina...

The case of Terry Wallis, an Arkansas man who suddenly woke up from a 19-year long coma, has raised new questions about the death of Terri Schiavo, who died last year after a court ordered her feeding tube to be disconnected. Wallis fell into his coma in 1984 after a serious car accident. At the time he was 19. According to LifeSiteNews.com, the doctors who have studied the Wallis case have published their initial conclusions in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The report explains that during the car accident Walls’ nerve connections in his brain were severed, putting him in...

Mountain View, Arkansas, July 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Monday The Journal of Clinical Investigation published new research on the recovery of a brain damaged man from his 19 years in a minimally conscious state, adding to the growing evidence that those with “hopelessly” severe brain injuries may be able to recuperate with therapy or other kinds of assistance. The Journal’s research focuses on the sudden recovery of Terry Wallis, who experienced a car wreck in 1984 when he was 19 years old. The accident sheared the nerve connections in his brain, putting him in a minimally conscious state (MCS)...

A study of the "miraculous" recovery of a man who spent 19 years in a minimally conscious state has revealed the likely cause of his regained consciousness. The findings suggest the human brain shows far greater potential for recovery and regeneration then ever suspected. It may also help doctors predict their patients’ chances of improvement. But the studies also highlight gross inadequacies in the system for diagnosing and caring for patients in vegetative or minimally conscious states.

Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is one of the few people known to have recovered so dramatically so long after a serious brain injury. He still needs help eating and cannot walk, but his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25 without interruption. Wallis' sudden recovery happened three years ago at a rehabilitation center in Mountain View,...

Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is one of the few people known to have recovered so dramatically so long after a serious brain injury. He still needs help eating and cannot walk, but his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25 without interruption.

Doctors have proof on how man who was barely conscious for decades woke Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is thought to be the only person in the United States to recover so dramatically so long after a severe brain injury. He still needs help eating and cannot walk, but his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25...

Angered by what they see as increasing hostility toward immigrants, hundreds of thousands of people converged on City Hall Saturday to demand amnesty for illegal aliens and reject federal legislation that would build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters, wearing white T-shirts to symbolize peace, danced, chanted and carried large banners as they filled dozens of streets in downtown. They chanted "Mexico!" "USA!" and "Si se puede," an old Mexican-American civil rights shout that means "Yes, we can." Many protesters said lawmakers were unfairly targeting immigrants who provide a major labor pool for America's economy. The rally was organized...

Family Fights To Take Toddler Home Chris Frank Life Or Death Battle Feb. 28-A life or death decision could be hanging in the balance for a child. Little Brett Shively Junior was rushed to the hospital after a terrible accident where he nearly drowned in a bathtub. Now his family is fighting to bring the little boy home. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday in District Court to decide whether or not a Wichita hospital can remove the ventilator keeping the two year old boy alive. Brett's family says, "We just believe that we're the best people to decide his care."...

Forget monitoring vital signs. Monitor talkbacks. The moment that Ariel Sharon takes a turn for the worse, the messages flood in. Thankfully, the great majority are wishes that he might not suffer, or prayers for a miracle recovery. It is a measure of the unbearable meanness of the Internet, however, that the first to arrive are almost always those who wish him ill, wish him hell, or alternatively, those who voice the hope that he will live on to suffer through endless rounds of new surgeries and unimaginable cutting-edge bio-tech tortures.

A Local Family Facing A Life Or Death Decision For A Toddler Feb. 9 The power of prayer and the race against time. The family of a local toddler who nearly drowned is fighting a new battle, one that may require a life or death decision. Life hangs in the balance for two-year-old Brett Shively. Family and friends turn to a higher power for support. They have set up a website http://web.mac.com/brettjr/iWeb/Pray%20for%20Brett%20Jr/Welcome.html dedicated to the toddler and the power of prayer. His family makes a passionate plea for people to pray like they've never prayed before. The doctor told them,...

Doctors inserted a feeding tube in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stomach on Wednesday, according to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, where he is being treated for a massive stroke. Sharon, 77, has been in a coma since he suffered a stroke on Jan. 4 and the stomach procedure was further evidence that he is likely to be incapacitated for a long time. Long-term care specialists and a U.S. authority on comatose patients have examined Sharon in recent days. Experts say his chances of regaining consciousness or a meaningful level of activity are slim. "Tonight Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent a gastrostomy,...

Father drops court appeal over his little girl's fate The fate of a little girl badly injured in a landslide last September will be decided outside of a Norwegian courtroom. Her father and officials at the Bergen hospital where she's lying in a coma have agreed to cooperate. Oddmund Hjartåker has been fighting to prevent doctors at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen from taking his daughter off a life-support system. Four-year-old Kristina Hjartåker has been linked to a respirator since she was buried under mud and rocks in a landslide set off by heavy rain. Her doctors, other hospital...

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's failure to wake up from a coma nine days after suffering a massive stroke does not bode well for his recovery, some doctors said Friday. With extensive brain damage looking likely, Israelis have begun to look ahead to life without Sharon. Sharon, 77, remained in "critical but stable" condition Friday, showing no change from the previous day, said Hadassah Hospital spokesman Ron Krumer. Israel's Channel 10 TV and Army Radio cited Hadassah officials as saying they were worried Sharon has shown no signs of awakening, even though doctors have begun weaning him off heavy...

ROME, Oct 5 (Reuters) - An Italian man who spent two years supposedly unconscious in a deep coma, written off by doctors as nearly-dead, awoke saying he heard and understood everything happening around him during the long ordeal, his family said. Salvatore Crisafulli, a father of four, is describing his case as a "miracle" which proves that lost causes are anything but hopeless and his recovery appeared to strengthen the hand of Italians opposed to end-of-life solutions. His brother even called Crisafulli "an Italian Terri Schiavo case" with reference to the brain-damaged Florida woman who died in March after her...

It's a new world' Sarah Scantlin making gains in regaining control of her arms in infinitesimal increments By Clara Kilbourn The balls of gauze that protected Sarah Scantlin's feet for two decades have been traded in for a pair of high-top sneakers. A welcome spot of breakfast lingers on her T-shirt, and she smiles when her mother, Betsy Scantlin, talks about Sarah's newfound fondness for Zingers and French fries. "Where's the catsup?" Sarah asked when the French fries were served, Betsy said. In the six months since she spoke her first "OK" - after 20 years of no verbal communication,...

For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin was seemingly unaware of the world around her after she was hit by a drunk driver in an accident that sent her into a comatose state in September of 1984. Then in February, she shocked her parents and doctors when she began to speak. In her first national television interview, after undergoing surgery on her long-unused limbs and speech therapy to unlock her long-dormant tongue, Scantlin speaks with The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith in a two-part interview to be broadcast Thursday and Friday. Smith also speaks with Sarah's parents, Jim and Betsy Scantlin,...

Schiavo-like Woman in Recovery Miracle A severely brain-damaged Kansas woman who couldn't talk or feed herself after a car accident two years ago has inexplicably regained those abilities, confounding the predictions of doctors. Tracy Gaskill, 30, began speaking and swallowing about three weeks ago, family members and medical personnel told the Associated Press. Gaskill had suffered head trauma and internal injuries after her car rolled over on a highway in September 2002.

Donald Herbert's breakthrough after a decade in a nearly silent stupor offers more evidence that other patients with severe brain injuries, often written off as hopeless, might improve with treatment, medical experts said last week. Over the last 10 years, he appeared to fluctuate between a vegetative and a minimally conscious state, said Dr. Jamil Ahmed, a rehabilitation specialist at Erie County Medical Center who has treated Herbert since 2002. Herbert unexpectedly started conversing again April 30, his brain apparently stimulated by a new combination of drugs he started taking three months ago. Since then, he has become less active...

Doctor prescribed drug cocktail to stimulate man's brain May 5, 2005 BY CAROLYN THOMPSON BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A brain-injured firefighter who started speaking after almost a decade of near-total silence has had moments of clarity but nothing as dramatic as that first long conversation Saturday, his wife said Wednesday. But she and his doctor remain hopeful. Don Herbert's startling improvment came three months after his medication was changed. Herbert, who will turn 44 Saturday, went without oxygen for several minutes after being trapped under a collapsed roof while fighting a house fire in December 1995. He spent 2-1/2 months in...