What first drew me to the subject of patients in the vegetative state was the stark gap between cutting-edge neuroscience and everyday medical care. For two decades, scientists have been able to detect “covert consciousness” in some brain-injured patients, yet these tests are rarely offered. I wanted to understand how family members navigate that gap. I spent a year interviewing neuroscientists, clinicians, ethicists and rehabilitation therapists, along with people whose loved ones have been declared to be in a vegetative state. Early in my reporting, I met Tabitha Williams, who discovered the concept of covert consciousness herself while scrolling through scientific papers on her phone as her husband lay in the ICU. Her husband’s doctors never even mentioned the phenomenon. Stay in touch: Like this email? Forward it to a friend and help us grow. Loved a story? Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter.
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