 |
What is a coma? What is a "vegetative state"? What is the possibility for
consciousness after emerging from a comatose state? What, in the end, makes life worth
living?
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, traumatic brain injury affects
more Americans each year than breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and spinal
cord injury combined. Academy Award®-nominated director Liz Garbus' insightful
documentary COMA explores the mysteries of the injured brain and its ability to heal.
Giving voice to people whose quality of life and very existence have been
threatened, the special goes inside a top U.S. medical facility for the treatment of head
trauma and follows four coma survivors over the course of a year.
In the wake of the Terri Schiavo media spectacle and the "awakening" of Terry
Wallis from a minimally conscious state after 19 years of silence, Garbus strives to find
answers away from the glare of the media. With unprecedented access to the Center for
Head Injuries at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ, she chronicles the emotional
stories of four families for one year, looking through the eyes of their renowned physicians
and neuropsychologists, led by Dr. Joseph Giacino and Dr. Caroline McCagg.
As Garbus documents the care and treatment of the four individuals, each
emerges from coma either to regain consciousness or to remain trapped, perhaps
indefinitely, in a vegetative state. For the vast majority of patients, the first year is a
critical window of time for recovery; most doctors agree that after a year, chances of
progress are slim to none.
Each patient's progress is the source of the joy and sorrow of the ever-present
family members, who have put their lives on hold to become caregivers.
In addition to the documentary, two featurettes will air on HBO On Demand. The
first segment is an extended look at Terry Wallis, who sustained a devastating brain injury
in a 1984 car accident, and lay silent and paralyzed in a minimally conscious state in an
Arkansas nursing home. Nineteen years later, he "awakened" and uttered the word
"mom," and has made steady progress ever since, regaining not only language but also
the ability to move. Terry is subsequently brought to New York by the producers for
special structural MRI scans that shed light on his extraordinary recovery. Exclusive
never-before-seen footage captures a remarkable medical breakthrough, revealed by Dr.
Nicholas Schiff and a team of top neuroscientists from Columbia University Medical
Center, Weill Cornell Medical College and JFK Medical Center, as they collect data that
suggests that Wallis' brain was actually repairing itself by forming new neural
connections. The second featurette examines the case of JFK Medical Center patient
Willie Hicks, whose recovery from brain injury is more pronounced than that of the four
subjects of COMA.
Liz Garbus co-founded Moxie Firecracker, Inc., an independent documentary
production company, with filmmaker Rory Kennedy in 1998. Her directorial credits
include "The Farm: Angola, USA," which was nominated for an Academy Award®, and
won two Emmys® and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize; "The Execution of Wanda Jean"
(HBO); "The Nazi Officer's Wife" (A&E); "Girlhood" (Wellspring/TLC); and "Xiara's Song"
(Cinemax). Most recently, she served as one of the directors of HBO's "Addiction" series.
Last year, Garbus and Rory Kennedy executive produced the Academy Award®-
nominated "Street Fight."
COMA is produced and directed by Liz Garbus; produced by Rory Kennedy and
Jed Rothstein; directors of photography, Daniel B. Gold and Tom Hurwitz; edited by
Karen Sim; music by Thomas Rutishauser; story editor, Dan Cogan. For HBO: senior
producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
Related Documentaries Airing on HBO On Demand
Coma: Terry Wallis: After an inexplicable awakening from a 19 year coma, this 13-minute segment documents the progress of coma patient Terry Wallis and the impact that his recovery is having on science's understanding of the brain.
Coma: Willie "Junior" Hicks: This 18-minute featurette chronicles the rehabilitation of Willie "Junior" Hicks as he is forced to re-learn the most basic physical and mental functions following his awakening from an assault induced coma.
Check the HBO On Demand schedule for more information.
|
|
|
     |
