Exemplification Essay: Should There Be Locked In Syndrome?

Six years imprisoned in her own body, unable to communicate with anyone, and with no one knowing she was alert. Julia Tavalaro was 27 when she suffered multiple strokes and fell victim to the rare Locked-In Syndrome. None of her family noticed that Tavalaro was awake or trying to communicate with them, it was a therapists who noticed that Tavalaro seemed to follow her with her eyes. A disease often misdiagnosed by doctors as a vegetative state, or pseudo-coma. She was trapped without anyone knowing she was even there. Locked in Syndrome is complete paralysis of the body save for eye movements. Most commonly patients recover lateral eye movement, but some can only use one eye, or only move their eyes horizontally. Immobility does not only affect motor skills, but all other voluntary functions, such as chewing, swallowing, and even breathing. Those who suffer from this disorder are awake and cognitive, but are unable to function. Normal sleep cycles are implemented for those in this pseudo-coma, just as any other person does. It is estimated that many in this state are never correctly diagnosed, and are forced into an existence in which they cannot communicate with anymore, instead they live in a shell of a body with no escape.
The rare syndrome cannot be …show more content…
50% of those who are diagnosed are done so by family members who notice their loved one seems responsive. To get a positive diagnosis doctors usually start with magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, to examine the brain stem for impaired pons, and to also rule out any other brain damage present. An electroencephalogram, EEG, is then used to measure the sleep-cycles of the patient, in order to determine of the the patient's alertness. The EEG is also used to test stimuli and observe the brain’s reaction, most who suffer from the disorder can feel vast amounts of