Eye Opening Response
• Spontaneous--open with blinking at baseline 4 points
• To verbal stimuli, command, speech 3 points
• To pain only (not applied to face) 2 points
• No response 1 point
Verbal Response
• Oriented 5 points
• Confused conversation, but able to answer questions 4 points
• Inappropriate words 3 points
• Incomprehensible speech 2 points
• No response 1 point
Motor Response
• Obeys commands for movement 6 points
• Purposeful movement to painful stimulus 5 points
• Withdraws in response to pain 4 points
• Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing) 3 points
• Extension response in response to pain (decerebrate posturing) 2 points
• No response 1 point
Categorization:
Coma: No eye opening, no ability to follow commands, no word verbalizations (3-8)
Head Injury Classification:
Severe Head Injury----GCS score of 8 or less
Moderate Head Injury----GCS score of 9 to 12
Mild Head Injury----GCS score of 13 to 15
Yeah, I wish the story gave a more precise explanation about her medical diagnosis. Even being able to walk with help doesn't fit my understanding of coma.
To answer both of you, it's basically sleepwalking. The person is not conscious, but is able to function in an instinctive manner.
There are stories of people in comas who were given a medication like zolpidem that wakes them, but it's actually sleepwalking and the person is not conscious. Search: https://www.google.com/search?q=zolpidem+coma
These kinds of cases can help explain what consciousness actually is, which is hardly a settled question.
On the other hand, she had no recollection of anything in between but seemed to very well recall what was recently happening before she fell into that state. Mentally what we'd call a coma even if her body was not at the level of a vegetable. Intriguing story either way.
Steve Wozniak mentions this happening to him after a plane crash. Where he had a period where he didn't form permanent memories, and when that passed and he was able to, it was as if he awoke from a coma, even though he was functioning and interacting with people during this time. Think if the Memento (kinda based on a real case) guy suddenly regained the ability to hold memories, he would "awake" and to a period years later.
Perhaps something like this happened, where she was "around" and "interacting" but regained the ability to store memories and thus she "awoke".
Glasgow Coma Scale
Eye Opening Response • Spontaneous--open with blinking at baseline 4 points • To verbal stimuli, command, speech 3 points • To pain only (not applied to face) 2 points • No response 1 point
Verbal Response • Oriented 5 points • Confused conversation, but able to answer questions 4 points • Inappropriate words 3 points • Incomprehensible speech 2 points • No response 1 point
Motor Response • Obeys commands for movement 6 points • Purposeful movement to painful stimulus 5 points • Withdraws in response to pain 4 points • Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing) 3 points • Extension response in response to pain (decerebrate posturing) 2 points • No response 1 point
Categorization: Coma: No eye opening, no ability to follow commands, no word verbalizations (3-8) Head Injury Classification: Severe Head Injury----GCS score of 8 or less Moderate Head Injury----GCS score of 9 to 12 Mild Head Injury----GCS score of 13 to 15