Last week my younger brother (26 years old) was found unconscious at home, suspected to have been unconscious for a few hours, he was taken to hospital and put in a coma and we were told they would try and take him out of the coma after a few days once swelling on the brain had gone down.
A few days later they have said there has been very little change in the swelling, they have though started to reduce what he is on to try and bring him round (although I thought they would wait longer based on what they first said about the swelling). He has opened his eyes once or twice although isnt tracking movement, and his arms have moved a bit but the consultant said it isn't a massively positive sign as the movement and response to pain is abnormal. When the open his eyes and shine light in the pupil does change size which is I think a positive sign.
His oxygen levels were at 54% when he was found, and based on what the consultant has said about this, and the abnormal movements, although it is still early days (day 5 currently) it doesnt seem like the results are very good so far.
Does anyone have experience of a similar situation and is there anything I should be asking the consultants from anyone's experience? I dont want to get my hopes up too much and I know outcomes can vary a lot but I would like to have an idea of best and wort case scenarios either way, and anything to look out for or to ask the consultants would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Chrisd88
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Hi, my husband had cardiac arrest and has hypoxic brain injury..He was given a 1% chance of recovery.He didn't react to stimuli and twice I was called in to listen to doctors saying the prognosis wasn't good.Had more brain scans and they even sent one to Birmingham for a second opinion.Eventually,he did react,though they thought he wouldn't improve.6 years later,he walks and talks(though unable to read or write).Apart from his slightly slurred speech at times you wouldn't know about the bi.I never gave up hope.I know the doctors tend to give the worse case scenarios but sometimes miracles do happen.Keep strong.
I would say that you have to get in touch with Headway if you haven't already. They will be able to give you good solid advice and information I wish they had left my husband in coma for longer. They had only given him a couple of days before bringing him round. I understand now that the longer they keep you in coma the better, and many have been shocked at how quickly he was brought round considering the amount of trauma.
The prognosis is often bleak and it's early days, I would take some of it with a pinch of salt and just a bit of hope. One hour at a time.
I was a bit confused why they were trying to bring him round from the coma so quickly, they have said it's better to keep him a lightly sedated as possible so they are adjusting day by day.
The doesn't seem to be going down, he has had some "abnormal" movements so far but nothing that indicates he is there and understands anything.
That's a positive sign surely. The movements may seem abnormal to them but it's possible that it's just part of things. My husband's left arm used to wonder around when we were eventually talking to him on Skype. It's possible that he also had "abnormal" movement in the early days, but we were not made aware of it. Or maybe we were and I wasn't listening. But movement is better than stillness yes?Early early days.
Are you getting to see him much? I think many have already mentioned taking in his phone and letting him listen to his Spotify playlists or recommendations. Chatting with him. We took my husband on a drive (this was over video when he was in rehab). It was just a drive that we were taking to bring him some fresh clothes etc, but the drive is an hour. And he didn't respond much but just listened to our prattling. When he was able to speak a bit (he can't now but he could earlier on) he had asked his brother for a radio so he could just hear something that wasn't hospital.
Sorry your brother and your family are going through this.
Talking to Headway is your best bet - number under the help tab on the right.Other than that, talk to him. Hearing can still be working even when other signs seem iffy. It's worth a shot, anyway.
Other than that, remember to breathe, and take care of your needs as well. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
I spent a month in an induced coma, have nothing to give u any hope other than 2 years later a DSS doctor said I was fit to work?!! Just hold on in there, talk to him, reassure him u never know. 🤞
in 1994 I froze over a 6 hour period. This caused me about a half an hour of cardiac arrest and severe hypoxia. The cold helped protect my brain, but since I was only 20 Celsius, it only helped me some. A man actually froze and was around 0 degrees and was clinically dead for an hour. He was back in college 5 years later.
I was placed into a month long drug induced coma, and apon awakening couldn’t speak or walk for 4 months, we left sided weakness. I’ll probably never play the guitar again, but prior to the Pandemic I ran a 27 minute 5K.
Cognitively my memory, attention, creativity, & problem solving were severely affected. In fact my cognitive therapist flat out told me, it would *never* improve. Today 29 years later I am 600 level chess player, and I think I can break 1000 one day.
It will vary of course from person to person, and I will have a speech, and a left hand disabilty, along with attention difficulties for the rest of my life, but improvement is always possible.
oh, and play him music he is familiar with often. My family had music playing constantly during my recovery. It stimulates the mind, and promotes healing.
My son had an hypoxic injury to his brain about ten days ago. It’s very early on and in many ways I have many of the questions you have. He is 25 and they don’t know how long he was down for. He did not get the lifesaving treatment at first because they were thinking it could have been drug related. It wasn’t until the toxicology tests came back negative that they realized he had a sepsis infection and probably suffered a massive sustained seizure that cut off the oxygen t8 his brain. He was never placed in a coma but was in a vegetative state until two days ago. He now has tiny movement in his hands and feet and this morning, I think I heard him say yes for the first time. The doctors did an mri of his brain and didn’t give us much hope for a recovery but he seems to be improving. I think that his age(25) is playing a big role in his survival. Our next step is to get him out of the hospital he is ion and put him in a rehabilitation hospital. Hang in there. This is a king road but you can see by the responses that some recovery is possible. I find much comfort with the stories that are shared here and hope you find it too
Hi to you & also Kbradley181 my son had a cardiac arrest & subsequent hypoxic brain injury Sept 20 (age then 38).
Unfortunately my son hasn’t had the best of outcomes but we still have hope better times/ improvements in his quality of life are to come.
I wish both your respective brother/son the very best in their recovery’s. It is a very difficult place to be especially in these early days - so many questions, so many that unfortunately can’t be fully answered by Drs at present -very hard when you desperately want & need answers now.
This site has been a listening ear, advisory & sounding board for me and hope it can also be that for you. Take care. Nanapal x
Nanapal Kbradley181 Alb64 ored13 Leaf100 skydivesurvivor gr33nmind New_beginning Skulls AndrewT Hi all, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for taking the time to respond to me on this post and another update on my brother's situation that I posted a couple of weeks ago.
He had a tracaeostomy the other day and today after I showed him a video he responded for the first time asking what the name of the video was, he has also able to drink water and request water (don't blame him after 4 weeks with all the breathing apparatus!)
He's been moved to a rehabilitation ward now so hopefully the small improvements continue. BUT the main reason for my post now was just to show appreciation for all of you who reached out with support, experience and hope in a time that has been very very hard, it has been very much appreciated. I will update as time goes on and I hope to repay my gratitude forward to others on this forum.
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