Anoxic brain injury , how long to response time in weeks ?

[Worriedfor]

How long does it take for a semi conscious person to wake up after anoxic brain injury.? It’s brain damage after cardiac arrest ( 20-25 mins without oxygen ) icu for 3 weeks , coma 2 weeks. We are in wk 8 post injury. WAke and zzz cycles ( sleeps more than awake) . Eyes open , head turning, fingers upper limbs slow movements not following command . Response to pain and annoying audio sounds. No tract, breathing stable etc .

On medicine for ; bp, seizures ( due to anoxic injury) kidney dialysis gfr 20-30. Infections etc Few times in icu.

Anyone been here with loved one ? Need hope !

[Phoenix68]

Hi Worriedfor. We had a similar reason for the hypoxic brain injury that our loved one had. She was in CPU for a week (although she should have been there longer) and it took around 4 weeks to start to wake up. We talked to her lots and lots whilst asleep, telling her how much we love her etc. and tried to ask lots of questions to stimulate a response. Sometimes it would work for a few minutes! She first said nonsense words and then after a few weeks they became proper words. In week 5 she woke up to music: on that particular time, when we played a song to her she woke up and started singing. But from there it wasn’t a straightforward wake/sleep cycle, she did sleep lots more than awake.

Fast forward 20 months... she is going to Adult Education to regain maths and English skills as she did forget her basics. She had to relearn the concept of time, to count, that the Earth is round, or what simple objects were. But she is learning well and now at GCSE level! Take a step at a time and I wish you all the best!

[Shon48 in reply to Phoenix68]

Isn’t this just wonderful ?? Gives everyone , not just people with hypoxic brain injury , to realise there is lots of hope . I wish her the best of wishes and that she continues to improve and to your family who have been so encouraging . 👏👏

Shona🤗🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Worriedfor in reply to Phoenix68]

Thank you for your story, very helpful. So pleased for you that your loved one pulled through. I pray she gets better each day.

[Phoenix68 in reply to Worriedfor]

Same for you Worriedfor. We can either complain about what’s happened or feel grateful our loved ones are still with us, I always try and opt for the second option ❤️👍🏼

[Mser94 in reply to Phoenix68]

Oh wow what a wonderful story!

Was it 4 weeks since trauma that she woke up or 4 weeks post sedation? Xx

[Phoenix68 in reply to Mser94]

Thank you 🙏🏼It was 4 weeks from being admitted to hospital with a cardiac arrest. Best wishes

[anonymous38]

This is really begining. My brother had cardiac arest 4 month ago. Coma, breathing tube, feeding tube, tracheostomy, etc. Regained concesness after 20 days. Now at rehab, learning first to sit, now already to walk. Memory loss of certain things, some he remember. Rekognize everbody,, but he does not know from where he know someone. Speaking english, german, Italian and slovenian, but NO mother language (Croatian), he did not know german or Italian before. speaking mostly noncense although in some days he is really present... in such days he asks what happened, asks why is he here and when he will go home. This is one of five days, other 4 days he is like a child, with eating, taking pills is a problem. But what warries me is that most of the time he has no interess for anything at all. He could sit and stare to the wall whole day long. No interes to talk with anyone, to read, to whatch movie, or anything.

One step at the time.

I still hope we have some time and that with improvement of motoric skills cognitive will come also

So be patient. Talk, smell, Listen to music, wake all sences you can ... audio, Visual, smell ...

[Orleans1011 in reply to anonymous38]

Hello he’s speaking a language is fascinating the brain is so powerful. Did he suffer any brain damage. My husband went into arrest as well. Hes not talking all that good he has behavioral problems he’s now like a child. It’s been a year. He still can’t walk. It’s hard is a understatement. I feel so bad for him if I could take his place I would. I would say give it time because the brain needs healing. God bless

[anonymous38 in reply to Orleans1011]

He does not speak whole languages or whole sentences ... only some words ... not making a lot of a sence. Yes, Like a child , i know. Brain damage yes, fine motorics, writting and mother language GET the most .... time is only thing we have.

[Worriedfor in reply to anonymous38]

Wow he is speaking other languages? That is very unusual as I alwYs thought the brain is taught a language we are born into and pick up through our environment and interactions with others. For him to speak 2 other languages that were not taught to him is incredible ! Perhaps his nonsense is not nonsense and he is speaking a language perhaps his family are not familiar with? Do keep us updated to his recovery . Hope and pray he gets better each day . I look at others in this forum to keep me strong as some of you are 3-4 months ahead post injury and you have been through the ' will they won't they survive ICU hell' .

[anonymous38 in reply to Worriedfor]

No ... when hi make noncense IT is just ‘pipipipi’or some repets. Slovenian and english he spoke before, Italian ... he did not but he lives close ti Italian border and IT is common to Hear people speaking Italian. German ... he must pick up some words .... i see it Like this ... he can not use his mother language - croatian - so he speaks what he knows ... this are just some words ... not the whole sentences. But he understands us...

[Mel-Bee]

It has been 5 months since our daughter suffered her anoxic injury and I know how desperately you must be wishing for a definitive answer; will they recover and when.

If your loved one had an MRI scan in the early weeks then the doctors should be able to give you some idea of the extent of the damage but there is never any certainty. Have they been moved to a neuro rehab facility yet - we were lucky in that the physios and therapists stimulated her and checked daily for eye tracking, visual response, auditory response, blinking patterns and so on to try to plot a trajectory of any change or improvement.

When improvements are minimal it can be easy to miss them so this might help you.

Although we had no certainty as to whether she could hear us, we talked to her, read to her, played her favourite music and tried not to give up.

I also know how hard it can be when kindhearted people tell you their stories of recovery and improvement whilst you are coping with a lack of evidence of any such improvement for your loved one. But 8 weeks is still relatively early so find support for yourself because it's an exhausting journey you're on, try to stay strong, ask lots of questions about what response tests they are doing and what scores your loved one is getting, do everything as if they can hear - if they have not become hypersensitive to touch, stroke their skin with different textures and hold on to hope for as long as you can.

[Worriedfor in reply to Mel-Bee]

So sorry to hear about your daughter. How is she now? We can’t get neurological help as his body requires support ( kidney problems) that the hospital can’t provide.

I’m doing what I can on sensory.

His scale is 3 at moment and had brain damage due to length of oxygen deprivation.

Still fighting his corner .... but so desperate as hospital just want switch off.

[HopeforTony]

The brain is a healing organ and due to plasticity it can heal itself but all over time. For that rest if needed all the time to help reboot the system. It will take time so dont give up just keep playing music, speak to, and touch your loved one all the time ... they need to know you are there for them that also helps them navigate. I am sure you will message me anytime MUCH LOVE AND HOPE XX