My husband suffered a hypoxic brain injury and has blurred vision.

[Jennifer35]

Hi on the 2nd August 2013 my husband suffered a cardiac arrest and was down for 72 minutes. I gave cpr from the minute he stopped breathing until the ambulance arrived but his heart was shocked into an irregular rhythm. He was stabilized at the hospital and went into icu and put into hypothermia. The doctors said he would never breath on his own but he did and has continued to improve over the last 10 weeks. He was moved to a rehab hospital on Monday this week, he's walking, talking, feeding himself with help and seems to be getting better each week. His memory is very poor especially short term. He has also lost his sight, he say's everything is blurred but he does see shapes, movement, colour but not much more and I do think he guesses things sometimes. Has anyone else lost vision and had it return like this and if so how long did it take? I'm so scared all the time. He's 38 years old, we have 5 children and our own business and i'm running out of money.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[headwayuk Partner Headway]

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for your post. I am very sorry to hear of the situation with your husband, but it's very good that he seems to be progressing well in his recovery.

I will start by saying that after such a severe hypoxic brain injury, two months is really very little time at all - it sounds like he has made some rapid progress so far but it is still very early days. Because of this, at this stage it is probably too soon to say which symptoms will persist and which will get better. Generally we say that the long-term outlook becomes clearer after around 6 months, so while the visual problems may be a long-term problem, there is also a chance they will improve as the other problems have.

Hypoxic/anoxic brain injuries (due to loss of oxygen) do tend to have quite widespread effects - which would explain why your husband is experiencing a wide range of symptoms such as memory and visual problems. You can find out more about this type of injury on our website, headway.org.uk/Hypoxic-anox....

I would suggest at this stage that you contact our helpline on 0808 800 2244 or [e-mail] to discuss the situation. They can explain more about the visual difficulties and send copies of our booklets to help understand the effects of brain injury and the rehabilitation process.

You may also benefit from support from your local Headway group/branch. You can search for a Headway near you at headway.org.uk/in-your-area... or our helpline will give you details.

Regarding the financial situation, you might like to look at our emergency fund, which, depending on your circumstances, may be able to provide a small grant to help with unforeseen costs. You can find out more at headway.org.uk/emergency-fu...

I hope this information helps - I am sorry I can't be more definite on the recovery times, but that is unfortunately part of the unpredictable nature of a brain injury. I hope with good rehabilitation, and help and support for you and the family, things will continue to improve.

Best wishes,

Headway.

[Jennifer35 in reply to headwayuk]

Thank you very much, I'm so glad that I've found this site, just reading about how people cope with brain injury and what I can expect for the future is really helpful.

[Annef68]

Really sorry to here about your husband, but really great that you've found this site. Your not alone in feeling scared it is daunting not knowing what is ahead. Sounds like your husbands doing incredibly well considering all he's been through, with your support I'm sure he'll continue to make positive steps. My experience is that the recovery path can feel like a long slow road often with lost of bumps, sometimes even feeling frustrated as we don't know where it may top. I try to take each day as it comes and walk that path with hand in hand with my son, which I'm sure you do with your husband. Take care cyber hugs xx

[Orleans1011]

Hi I know this was three years ago my husband suffered as well just wanted to check in to see how he’s doing

[Clgn83]

Hi, How’s your husband? Good I hope?? Xx

[Paolobusi]

Hi Jennifer,

Do you have any news for your husband, has he regained his sight? my son has had the same problem for 2 years and there have been only minor improvements.

Paul