“I feel that I am where I am today only through divine intervention, because things could have so easily been very different. God knew I existed.” –Martin Pistorius, who spent more than 12 years in a near-vegetative state before regaining consciousness.
Martin shared his story with us in our June/July 2015 issue of Mysterious Ways. Even his own mother had lost hope that he’d ever be able to live a normal life. Today, there is still no medical explanation for how Martin was able to regain consciousness.
I thought of Martin when I read the story of Dylan Rizzo in New York magazine. A 19-year-old from the Boston suburbs, he fell into a coma—and seemingly vegetative state—after a car accident. According to Dylan’s doctors, the connective tissue in his brain—the “wires” that transmit the signals necessary for consciousness—were shredded.
“They told us they didn’t think he would ever be able to live at home, that he would probably be institutionalized, and have moments of clarity where he would recognize us,” Dylan’s mother, Tracy, told New York. “But they didn’t think he would even have that.”
Dylan’s neuropsychologist, Joseph Giancino, didn’t dispute that diagnosis. But he counseled patience. Sometimes, doctors could miss signs of consciousness:
He once consulted on a case where the wife of a supposedly vegetative patient claimed that her husband would cry when she read a letter from his sister. Giacino was skeptical; the man had shown no sign of consciousness. But when the wife read the letter in his presence, the patient began to cry. To make sure, Giacino pulled a physical-therapy manual off a nightstand and instructed the wife to read a passage. She did, and the patient did not cry. “Emotional things,” he said, “I take that very seriously when families tell me that.”
What convinced the Rizzos and the doctors that Dylan was still in there? A fart—yes, a fart. Dylan’s father accidentally made the noise, and Dylan laughed. His Dad made the sound again. Dylan laughed some more. “We were like, Oh my God!” Tracy told New York, “Like, he knew what a fart is, right?”
Six weeks after the accident, doctors discovered that some of Dylan’s brain tissue had begun to mend. Today, Dylan volunteers as a track coach, helps his dad with construction projects, and is a healthy, normal, 23-year-old.
The New York article doesn’t discuss the family’s faith, but Dylan’s Aunt Sandy has called her nephew “an inspiration and a miracle.”
How can consciousness survive such trauma, when the brain is ripped apart? How is it that someone retains who they are?
Our interview with neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, who survived a brain injury himself, suggests one possibility
“The pure scientific materialism that assumed consciousness was a result of the physical workings of the atoms, molecules and cells of the brain, is crumbling,” Dr. Alexander told us. “The more we study the brain, the more we come to realize that the sheer complexity of the human brain cannot create consciousness…”
It’s an intriguing concept—that consciousness comes from outside, not within. If Dr. Alexander is right, then perhaps our memories, our perceptions, are stored “in the cloud,” ready for us to download once our brains heal. Maybe Martin has the right idea—if modern medicine can’t explain these recoveries, we may need to look in a different place.
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