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At least since the story of Rip Van Winkle was written, having one’s main character fall asleep for a long, long time has been a common literary device for getting him from one era into another, more future one. It is time travel without need for a time machine.
A coma is the nearest thing to a long sleep that most people have heard about. Comas usually happen as the result of a serious injury or illness, and not as a consequence of simply lying down and falling to sleep.
We’re not told that Gibson was in a coma during those 108 years of unconsciousnes, but we can infer that he had been in a coma-like state, at least, for that time. It is more of a stretch to think that a person not only could survive in such a state for so long, but could actually live well beyond a normal human life span—and then wake up with a little stiffness and a luxuriant beard as the only after-effects.
For the record, at this writing (March, 2005), the longest known coma was that of an Elaine Esposito, who never regained consciousness after being anaesthetized for an appendectomy in 1941, at age 6. She remained in the coma until her death a few days shy of her 44th birthday, in 1978. Total length of time she was in coma was 37 years and 111 days. (Source: Guinness Book of World Records)
Some people eventually emerge from their coma, of course, whether after a few days, weeks or months, or even after many years in a few cases. Almost always, they need extended therapy (psychological, physical, speech, etc.) to recover from the effects of lying in coma, as well as from any lingering effects of the original trauma. Few if any individuals coming out of a coma can just hop out of bed, yawn, and immediately begin living a regular life again.
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