In a full coma, the patient shows no signs of being awake, with eyes closed and unresponsive to the environment. Signs that Ms. Abdulla was recovering started to emerge last year when she began saying her son’s name. “We didn’t believe it at first,” Dr. Müller said. “But eventually it became very clear that she was saying her son’s name.”Dr. Müller said he had not expected such a recovery from Ms. Abdulla. Part of the treatment was to install a device that delivered medication directly into her spine, a factor that Dr. Müller said could have brought on her recovery.

Source: New York Times April 24, 2019 17:41 UTC