Nick Chisholm has been living with locked-in syndrome, also known as coma vigilante, since being injured on a rugby field in year 2000. Dissection of the vertebral arteries left him quadriplegic and without the ability to speak, but completely conscious. He shares his story on p 94. Interspersed with Nick's narrative, Grant Gillett provides information on this rare medical condition and discusses clinical and ethical issues that arise in locked-in syndrome.
Figure 1.
Credit: DENIS COHADON/TREVILLION