Eek on being fully conscious and thought to be in a coma.

In other news, we broke down yesterday and adopted a companion kitty for Seamus. Well, actually, two. Pearl is a gray-and-white four-month-old girl. Coco is a black four-year-old boy.

Pearl doesn't seem to like being picked up, but once you succeed, she likes to be cuddled. She's taken to hiding in one corner of a bookcase.

Coco looks like a handful. The rescue group has had him in their system since 2005 (so, since he was a kitten or adolescent). He's fine if you sit still and let him approach you, but he hisses and growls and attacks if you try to approach him with much more than a finger to sniff.

love it. They possibly have too much time on their hands, but AWESOME way to use it.

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking.

Also, that story of the guy in the coma is terrifying, but amazing that he's communicating now.

They're going to have more difficulty proving the persistent or vegetative parts of persistent vegetative states now, aren't they?

I thought there were tests that could be done to detect locked-in syndrome, but it's possible I'm confusing reality with House.

Fred, there's a chance he'll have a delayed or even a "second" kittenhood, learn to play and approach and be approached without feeling threatened.

Our feral didn't respond to his name for eight years, nor was he vocal, at all. Now he won't shut up, and apparates before us when we call his name. Begs to be picked up and held, although not by anyone sitting, though he will smush up against a hip or leg in lieu of lapsitting. Cats are infinitely adaptable, as I'm sure you know. And I can't think of a family who would be more fertile ground for nurturing a personality stunted by cages and short-term foster placements. All best to you and Coco.

IthereishopeforhumanityyetN - my church was down to 3 children in need holiday gift letters when we got there after service on Sunday. They usually have them out for 3 Sundays, and I asked the volunteers if they had only put out part of what we have, but no, they had put out all that our church had been given.

Then today I email our HR lady who had similar letters that our company had taken on for employees to take voluntarily. Now this workplace has NOT ONCE in the 2 years I have been here pushed volunteerism or charity donations, NOTHING. I got the very last letter and they were first available 2 weeks ago.

So woohoo for people!

I heard something on the radio about problems with how persistent vegetative states are determined, focussing on someone in a similar situation (possibly this guy, I don't remember well enough to be sure), but the way they figured out that the supposedly comatose person was awake was not simple or inexpensive. The doctor who did the figuring out was horrified at the thought of all the people he had pronounced brain dead that may not have been.

Aw, Carl Kasell is leaving NPR's newscasts (but staying on Wait Wait).

On the other hand, listening to Carl imitate Sarah Palin on this week's WWDTM is a little...ew.

Oh, gosh, Wait Wait has a page where you can listen to things people got Carl to record for their answering machines! [link]