Consciousness, new here

[Vita81068]

Hi! My dad was hospitalized with pneumonia two weeks ago. He was intubated but now is breathing on his own. He's getting healthier. He's still sedated but they bring him out once a day to see my mom and sister. He's unable to follow commands, squeeze my hand etc. but he's also incredibly hard of hearing and his hearing aids aren't in. His eyes open but he doesn't seem aware. His brain scans are normal. Has anyone had experience with this? We're eager to get him completely off sedation, they're about to do a tracheotomy to help him breathe. I guess I'm hoping to hear, yeah that happened to my dad, but with time, he got better.

[BBDEBS]

Hey lovely, welcome! I can only talk from what my family recall about me. At times I'd sit up in bed eyes wide open then fall down again. I was beastly to my husband when I was waking up but I have no recollection of it at all. If the brain scans are good, take comfort in that xxx

[Vita81068 in reply to BBDEBS]

Thank you for responding! Very nice of you. Glad to hear you're better!

[jojokarak]

I was told by my family that when they finally did bring me out of coma it took me a good while to even realise I was out/where I was. be patient hunni it's such a traumatic event for our bodies and brains to go through they need to catch up and some help. like was said above take positivity from the brain scans being good! I also had to have a trachy, took my family longer to get used to that I sounded like darth vader lol they will have to teach him how to eat/drink /talk again but only takes a few days.... please take hope that he will be OK the most important thing is they have brought him out of coma the rest will just take time

It took me months to get back to normal x

[Vita81068 in reply to jojokarak]

Thank you for responding. Glad to hear you got better, it's going to be a long recovery for my dad. Luckily, he is a healthy guy!

[AJH1709]

Definitely sounds just like my dad. He looked like he was away with the fairies most of the time!!! It's very early days for your dad - once he has the tracheostomy they can stop his sedation and he will start to wake up properly - though this still takes a while. Talk to the nurses I am sure they will tell you he is acting normally and reassure you. My dad is hopefully finally being moved out of ICU this week after 2 months - he will still have his trache for a while until they are sure he is strong enough to have it removed. It's a long road to recovery but have hope xx

[Vita81068]

Thank you these are very helpful.

[Vita81068]

I'm so happy your dad is getting out soon! Thank you for responding.

[AJH1709 in reply to Vita81068]

They actually moved my dad back to our local hospital yesterday - as he was in ICU in London which was a good two hour journey for us but an amazing ICU so can't complain. Totally out of the blue yesterday they announced they were transferring him back - such a relief. He is in a critical care ward which is a bit like HDU/ICU combined. Bit basic compared to the high tech ICU but he just needs to get stronger now and its going to make visiting so much easier. How is your dad doing? xx

[Vita81068 in reply to AJH1709]

My dad was finally able to communicate yesterday! Just blinking his eyes when asked a question, he squeezed my mom's hand. Huge to know he's still in there. Thank you for writing back to me. And lots of healing vibes to your dad!

[Vita81068]

So happy to hear your dad is well enough to be moved! My dad is pretty much the same, they were going to do the tracheotomy but because he was breathing better, they decided to see if he got better over the next few days. So he's still sedated until they can take the tube out. I'm finally going to see him this week. (He and my mom were traveling when he collapsed on the plane so they're stranded in Germany until he gets better.) my sister and brother have made the flight so it's my turn! I'll give an update once he's not sedated! Hope you dad gets better soon!

T

[AJH1709]

That must be so hard having him in another country!!!!! My dad is definitely improving in that he is getting moody and snappy which I have read is quite normal but hard when our lives have been on hold and we are frazzled from constant worry and travelling to visit. It seems incredibly ungrateful which I know isn't his fault but yesterday was a bad day and spent it in tears

[Vita81068 in reply to AJH1709]

I'm sorry. That must be hard. The rehab and recovery for both of our dads will be small steps down a long long road. Do find things to support yourself too!

[msfox]

I was put in a medical induced coma for the same reason. I was put on a ventilate. i also spiked high blood sugars well into the 40 and am now insulin dependent. Kidney failure which has already returned to normal thank god.. I've been out of the coma for three weeks now. My brain felt extremely tired for the longest time. It just took its time rebooting I suppose for a lack of a better term. I got better day by day. I have a long ways to go. Just recovery is going to take time. Its just going to. I will be all better in due course but it will be on my body and my brains terms. I do wish it would hurry up but I'm having to learn patience. The thing about induced coma...it actually protects the brain from trauma...so yeah...day by day your dad will improve. Hugs to you..

[Vita81068 in reply to msfox]

Thank you so much for writing! I appreciate it. I'm so glad you're getting better. Yeah, I keep telling myself, small steps down a long road. Thanks. Hugs to you too!