Two brief, painful-to-watch videos say - and show - it all: Margaret (Margot) Bentley in what's commonly called a vegetative state, uncommunicative and unresponsive to her husband's tender touch, to her daughter's warm voice, and to her surroundings. In "Say Hello," a 17-second video, Bentley is slumped in a chair, eyes closed. Her husband gives her an affectionate rub on the shoulder, then pats and embraces her hand. In the 36-second video called "Empty Spoon," Bentley's daughter, Katherine Hammond, puts a spoon without food to her mother's mouth and she opens her mouth. This happens a few times. The behaviour is called the snout reflex, and it's a test sometimes used by neurologists...
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