It also sounds very sad. Its like the judge said to the worst injured survivor from the tube blasts - he hoped he didn't still live with the 'what ifs'.
I used to go with my mum to the SN school where she worked from the 70s - God, how things have changed. But there were still good people trying even in those quite dark ages. I often remember mum coming home and saying that someone had managed to communicate that they wanted a drink and she was always so excited.