Prognosis after coma?

[Polska9]

3 & 1/2 weeks ago , my dad had severe heamorhagic stroke and his brain was flooded with blood, he since went into coma for about a week and even doctors were advising chance of survival were so slim or was a matter of when he will die. Miraculously today he has woke from his coma, waved, followed simple instructions and even tried to speak. Am I getting my hopes up or could be genuinely be on the path to improvement? If so what should I expect and what care does he need? He is 70 and also requires daily dialysis for kidney failure. Thanks

[cat3]

Last August, my ex husband had what was described by the doctors as a "catastrophic" haemorrhage. As with your dad, his chances of survival were considered very slim, It's all a bit of a blur now, but it was several weeks before he showed any signs of life. When he eventually did, the progress was very slow but, gradually, he is progressing. However, your dad seems to be recovering at a much faster rate.....from what you describe, he seems to have reached a similar level of ability in a fraction of the time.

My ex(Geoff) is still not speaking, although he has done on a couple of occasions,but everyone heals differently and,it seems, improvements can be very slow as in his case or (as in my own) surprisingly quick. I had a SAH last Dec.and am more or less back to normal.

I'm so pleased to hear that your dad is responding so early but try not to expect too much from him just yet....it's early days and, for now, all you can do is let him see you are there. So far so good !

Sincere best wishes & keep posting x

[Lubilu01]

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad, i can honestly say i know what you are going through. It sounds as though your Dad is showing some really encouraging signs quite early on and hopefully he will continue to improve. My Dad had a very severe haemorrhage last August, he wasn't expected to survive and we were called into the hospital to wait for them to take off his ventilator to see if he was able to breathe on his own or if he would slip away. He began to breathe on his own before they took him off the ventilator. He was then in a coma for approximately 3 weeks. When he did come round he had no movement in his arms or legs and was unable to speak. Gradually he has regained movement in both arms and is moving his legs. He still cannot walk or speak (he has said a few words but only a small few) and is in a hospital which specialises in brain injury. He is having physio and speech therapy. We are unsure how much he understands due to him being unable to speak at present. The most frustrating thing with a brain injury is that nobody is able to say how much or little any one person will recover as each person is different. It isn't the doctors fault, there just isn't a magic answer and it really is a waiting game.

My Mum also had a haemorrhage just over a year ago (she has posted above this one!) Mum wasn't in a coma but there were times when she was very poorly and quite confused. You may find your Dad gets confused or angry but don't be too disheartened if this happens, hang in there and be patient with him. my Mum came through the other side, I don't think my Dad will recover anywhere near as well but just hope he can regain some quality of life. I wish you, your Dad and your family all the luck in the world and as we are in a similar situation, please don't hesitate to sound off to me or ask me anything ( not that I am an expert!) keep us updated on how your Dads doing x

[cartoon29]

Not sure if u saw my message on here but if u did i can kind of imagine what you are going through ,my mum has had a severe sah and its really good to talk about it!

[Molly15]

My husband had SAH and stroke following a burst aneurysm in October last year. He was on a ventilator for 2 or 3 weeks, then had a tracheostomy. We were told to be prepared for the worst. To cut a long story short for now, he is being discharged this weekend. Mentally he has made an amazing recovery, going from not recognising me and being very confused to now being his old self, memory, sense of humour all intact, and just episodes of crying to show for it. Physically, he is now walking with a stick, and just has weakness in his left arm, which is slow to recover at the moment. It feels like a miracle. He still has to have an op to replace the bone flap, removed to allow his brain to expand, but that will be later in the year. He is 58. I really hope this gives you some much needed comfort that your Dad will do just as well.