A woman (age: 17-19?) came into the department today, two days after overdosing on a bunch of pills. She was declared as at least vegetative and at most brain dead by one of the junior doctors, and I was told to go counsel the family (i.e., tell them what would come of their girl), since I have developed a reputation already for being patient with families and answering their questions (something most doctors won't do regardless where they are in the world). I hadn't examined her, but while I was explaining why she was breathing, I showed the family all the signs of massive brain damage that I could remember - Doll's sign, fixed pupils, absent reflexes and so on. I continued explaining what this all meant at the bedside of the patient when, about 20 minutes later, the brain-dead/damaged woman got up and asked what was going on. She would go on to make a full recovery.
tarek : )