I'm guessing you're being down-voted for the way you expressed your sympathy, but if it were me, I'd want some brave family member to consider ending my misery. I certainly wouldn't want to be "trapped" in a non-functioning body unless there was a good chance I'd recover at some point.
It's good to hear he's not in pain, but what would they do if he expressed a desire to be "put out of his misery" via the fMRI?
There's enough bandwidth for yes-or-no questions, right? I wonder if anyone will ever come up with the courage to ask such a patient "Do you want to die?"
It's good to hear he's not in pain, but what would they do if he expressed a desire to be "put out of his misery" via the fMRI?