this is a sad case of well-meaning care-givers operating under the ideomotor effect. randi is totally correct in both his skepticism and his conclusions.
however, there are folks who have been "locked-in" and there was one (disturbing) research investigation into awareness levels of vegetative patients that showed brain activity consistent with awareness -- here's the pubmed entry:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16959998
"We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers."
note that the researcher's findings have not been verified or replicated, but the study and research is probably still very solid science.
however, there are folks who have been "locked-in" and there was one (disturbing) research investigation into awareness levels of vegetative patients that showed brain activity consistent with awareness -- here's the pubmed entry:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16959998
"We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers."
note that the researcher's findings have not been verified or replicated, but the study and research is probably still very solid science.