Can someone really be in a coma like in the soaps?!

Can someone really be in a coma like in the soaps?

I know someone can be in a coma for years and eventually wake up. But I was wondering if someone can be in a coma for years without being linked to any machines like people are in the soaps sometimes and not be in hospital. Surely they would need a drip attached or some kind of heart monitoring machine?

While people can be in comas, they do not wake up like they do in the soaps. A comatose person requires nutrients like everyone else and is usually receiving them from an I.V. for a short term coma or a tube device that goes into the stomach or small intestine if their condition goes on for longer term. Not all comatose people require life support -- cardiac (special "tubes" or "lines" that do everything from keeping the heart working as best they are able to monitors showing just how effective they are doing) and/or respiratory (ventilator that makes the patient breathe.) This is obviously a most complex issue as medical science can do so many things to support the "life" of various patients in various degrees of coma. The hot button now is the "but should we?"