Terry Wallis
Encyclopedia
Terry Wallis is an American
man living in the Ozark Mountains
of Arkansas
who on June 11, 2003 regained awareness after spending almost 20 years in a minimally conscious state
.
Following a 1984 automobile accident, in which one of his friends died, he, then aged 20, fell into a coma
that later stabilized into a minimally conscious state.
In 2003 he awakened from his minimal conscious state and began to talk, asking one of the staff in the nursing home who the woman in his room was. She told him that it was his mother. He believed that he was still 20 and that it was still 1984. His muscles remained weak as his family couldn't afford physiotherapy, but he gradually recovered over a three day "awakening period" in which he regained the ability to control some parts of his body and to speak to other individuals. However, he remains disabled from injuries suffered during the original accident, including the motor disorder dysarthria
.
Wallis was the subject of the BodyShock
special for 2005 "The Man Who Slept For 19 Years" made for Channel 4
in the UK. It shows his mother and daughter encouraging him to talk to neurologists to try to find out how Wallis had regained speech after such a long time. The program featured several well known doctors, including Dr. Caroline McCagg, the medical director of the JFK Center for head injury in New Jersey, Dr. Joe Giacino, a neuropsychologist who said Terry's brain retained lots of information prior to 1984 but hardly any after 1984 because Wallis lost the ability to store new memories
and was essentially amnestic, and Dr. Martin Gizzi, a neurologist who showed that, due to damage to the frontal lobes, he could not process experiences into memories. Also featured in the program was the neuropsychologist professor Roger Llewellyn Wood.
Using new technology, brain scans were done on Wallis by Nicholas Schiff of Weill Cornell Medical College. The hypothesis built from the imaging studies is that Wallis's brain reconnected neurons which remained intact and formed new connections to circumvent damaged areas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
man living in the Ozark Mountains
The Ozarks
The Ozarks are a physiographic and geologic highland region of the central United States. It covers much of the southern half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northwestern and north central Arkansas...
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
who on June 11, 2003 regained awareness after spending almost 20 years in a minimally conscious state
Minimally conscious state
Minimally Conscious State is a disorder of consciousness distinct from Persistent vegetative state and Locked-in syndrome. Unlike persistent vegetative state, patients with MCS have partial preservation of conscious awareness. MCS is a relatively new category of disorders of consciousness. The...
.
Following a 1984 automobile accident, in which one of his friends died, he, then aged 20, fell into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
that later stabilized into a minimally conscious state.
In 2003 he awakened from his minimal conscious state and began to talk, asking one of the staff in the nursing home who the woman in his room was. She told him that it was his mother. He believed that he was still 20 and that it was still 1984. His muscles remained weak as his family couldn't afford physiotherapy, but he gradually recovered over a three day "awakening period" in which he regained the ability to control some parts of his body and to speak to other individuals. However, he remains disabled from injuries suffered during the original accident, including the motor disorder dysarthria
Dysarthria
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor-speech system and is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes...
.
Wallis was the subject of the BodyShock
BodyShock
BodyShock is a sensationalistic documentary series about the conditions or lives of extraordinary people. It was originally produced by redback for Channel 4 in the UK, but since September 2006, it has been carried by ArkMedia....
special for 2005 "The Man Who Slept For 19 Years" made for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK. It shows his mother and daughter encouraging him to talk to neurologists to try to find out how Wallis had regained speech after such a long time. The program featured several well known doctors, including Dr. Caroline McCagg, the medical director of the JFK Center for head injury in New Jersey, Dr. Joe Giacino, a neuropsychologist who said Terry's brain retained lots of information prior to 1984 but hardly any after 1984 because Wallis lost the ability to store new memories
Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is a loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. This is in contrast to retrograde amnesia, where memories...
and was essentially amnestic, and Dr. Martin Gizzi, a neurologist who showed that, due to damage to the frontal lobes, he could not process experiences into memories. Also featured in the program was the neuropsychologist professor Roger Llewellyn Wood.
Using new technology, brain scans were done on Wallis by Nicholas Schiff of Weill Cornell Medical College. The hypothesis built from the imaging studies is that Wallis's brain reconnected neurons which remained intact and formed new connections to circumvent damaged areas.
External links
- Patient Revives After 19 Years By Rewiring Brain mini-article and discussion on Slashdot, July 2006
- Mute 19 Years, He Helps Reveal Brain's Mysteries, article in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, July 2006 - 'Miracle recovery' shows brain's resilience on Nature.com, July 2006
- Terry Wallis, a modern Lazarus on everything2.com, Updated in January 2004
- Man speaks after 19-year silence, article on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, July 2003 - Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Minimally Conscious State vs Persistent Vegetative State: The Case of Terry (Wallis) vs. The Case of Terri (Schiavo)
- A discussion about brain regeneration, Video interview with researchers on the Charlie Rose Show, July 28, 2006