After 19 Years 'Asleep,' Man's Brain Appears to Heal Itself  In
2003, almost 20 years after suffering a severe brain injury
during a car accident, Terry Wallis suddenly emerged from what
doctors call a "minimally conscious state" -- somewhere between
being awake and being in a vegetative state.  Now, researchers
believe the "miracle" that allowed the 42-year-old to rejoin the
world was actually a very slow process in which his brain grew
new connections to heal its injured parts.  What is remarkable
about this is that up until now, brain experts did not know to
what extent the brain could still heal itself so many years
after an injury.  "In essence, Terry's brain may have been
seeking out new pathways to re-establish functional connections
to areas involved in speech and motor control -- to compensate
for those lost due to damage," said Nicholas Schiff, the senior
author of a study on brain damage published in the July 1 issue
of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.  The study used a
combination of new and