Take, for example, the condition known as “locked-in state.” In one form of the disease, the nerves, from eyeballs to toes, suddenly and rather swiftly drop out of commission, with the result that the body is completely paralyzed, while the mind remains normal. The patient can hear what’s being said but has no way of communicating that he’s still in there, and that no, it’s definitely not okay to give his organs away for transplant. In severe cases, even the muscles that contract to change the size of the pupils no longer function.
