Hi.
My sister has been in a coma for about 6 weeks now. The first 10 days was induced. Now she is in her own coma. Opens her eyes but not responsive. Eeg, ct and mri are all good besides some swelling in the area of her bleed. She is not responding to commands and has minimal movements. She yawns a few times a day.
All this yet her neurosurgeon has said he is optimistic she will walk out of hospital.
Has anyone here experienced anything similar?
She is breathing on her own and has had a shunt put in.
Hi Sarah,
I haven’t experienced anything like this so can’t offer any stories. I can only offer sympathy and a listening ear. I don’t know much about coma but there is always the possibility your sister will wake up when the swelling goes down. Meanwhile, she’s breathing on her own which is good. Meanwhile every day that goes by is another day her brain is healing. The neurosurgeon is the expert here, if he feels she’ll walk out of the hospital it will probably happen. WHEN it will happen is anyone’s guess.
Hang in there, talk to us whenever and however often you need to. We’re here for you.
Sarah,
Wishing you and your family all the best. Always here for support and as a sounding board.
Sarah, I am so sorry to hear this. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. I must agree that if the neurosurgeon says she will most likely walk out, I think she will. From my experience, doctors tend to tell the family worst case scenario. I hope you will keep us posted on her progress. Sending well wishes, good vibes and God’s blessings to you and yours! 
Kai
Hi Sarah,
I don’t know your exact situation, but my mom had her AVM pop back in April and she had a craniotomy to remove the mass and stop the bleeding. Her surgeon was not so optimistic. He suggested we not do the surgery and let her go. She was unresponsive for a few weeks as well, but once they removed her off the heavy pain meds, she began to slowly wake up. Cognitively, she was not there. She would yawn also and look around the room. She couldn’t speak or understand and was paralyzed on her right side of her body because the AVM was on the left side of her brain. Since then, she has made a slow but good recovery. We see some movement in her right leg and she understands everything, but still has problems saying the right words. It has been difficult for me to find someone in a similar situation, so I’m hoping this helps you at least a little. Wishing you and your sister the best.
I was in a similar situation my family and doctors were begging me to wake up from my induced coma after my craniotomy. I did eventually wake up I think it was 2 weeks. Just be prepared for her to be confused and ease your way into explaining what happened. I still cry cause every decision was not my choice and the physical and emotional pain was too much. took me a month to want to see myself in a mirror and when I did I also saw how much my body endured and survived just let her vent and be sad or mad. she’ll wake up sarah the hard for you is over now her hard part will begin she will need all the support and love, best wishes and wish her a speedy and good recovery. Im 3months into my recovery every day is a new wave of emotions and waiting is my worst enemy but everyone is right patience is the key. At one point I couldnt even sit up in my wheelchai without falling to the side. Now Im walking on my walker assisted in outpatient therapy.
Also I recall being exhausted after I did wake up everyone said I would respond but that it seemed I was struggling to wake up or looked in pain she will be exhausted despite being “out” I swear I would say if anyone would let me I coukd probably sleep for 2 weeks. My fiance was like all youve done is rest!
Sarah
One area that I think is most frightening from reading other people’s stories on here is that I’ve read a few people who came out of their coma, not able to move, not able to speak, and I’m not sure if not able to see in some cases. Whenever your sister starts to show response, talk to her, encourage her, tell her it is normal not to have movement or speech and not to worry about it.
If there was anything I would ask someone to do for me in a similar position, it would be to know that I would get better, even if it is painfully slow.
I do hope all the best for your family.
Lots of love,
Richard
Thank you all for your responses and concern. It is all so helpful. We are constantly encouraging and reassuring my sister, telling her that the symptoms she’s suffering are all normal for that kind of injury, that she is making very good progress and that it just takes time.
@SarahA
Hello and Welcome to the site. I am so sorry your sister is in a coma. I was in a coma for 5 days and its true you can hear everything around you.
Sadly for some reason they had my tv on the news and it was the Japan earthquake in 2011- so I thought I had radiation issues and thought I was in the terminal part of the hospital…not that they have one mind you but I heard my roommate Brian nurses say his cancer had spread and they were waiting for his sister to come to tell him.
So please put something pleasant on for her. Also I could hear the doctors and when they were talking to my family about drilling into my head -inside I was saying yes you idiots please do something!
When I woke up I was very confused- pulled my IV out and sat up with the intention of running out of the hospital. Thankfully the nurse and my husband got to me first - My left side was paralyzed and I had a catheter in me…I thought they were stealing my DNA…we can laugh about these things now
It took about 2 weeks for me to retain the smallest part of what happened to me. I was exhausted as well. Trying to say even one word was like lifting my max weight in weight training.
They used to think it was the same part of your brain for speech and writing but in 2011 they proved it is not. So maybe put a paper and pencil in front of her.
also there is a great book called “my wife mistook me for a hat” by a brilliant man named Oliver Sacks who sadly got cancer and died. But in this book one of the stories I will always recall was about a person after they had a stroke could only see one side of things like their plate only say the left side so they would never eat what was on the right side etc.
I did not have this but when my grandma had a stroke I notice when she was awake she would only respond when I was on her left side.
She is in their fighting and tell her to fight! Bring her whatever is her favorite smell too like lavender lotion etc.
Coconut oil was a huge reason how I got better and much quicker than the doctors thought. You can rub it on her feet legs and hands. Massage is good.
Once she awake and able to swallow you can put a tsp in tea or coffee - Try 1tsp for 1 to 2 weeks then 2 tsp then move up to 3 tsp a day.
There is another great book called Coconut Cures on amazon.
They are doing clinical trials right now at Stanford and UCSF for stem cells in the brain for stroke victims and so far its going well. Hopefully one day it will be FDA approved so we can all try it and see if it helps with our pain and other issues.
Play music she likes etc. Hopefully this gives you some hope. I was ready to die I was in so much pain from my stroke but listening to my family I fought back and knew I had a long road ahead of me. I had to mourn my old self, accept my new self and strive to get back as close as I could to my old self.
She is lucky to have family to help her.
When she does come out of her coma show her brainsforthegame.com its free and I played it everyday - per my speech therapist it helps
Hugs
Angela
@Angela4 thank you for sharing. You’re an inspiration. All the survivors on this sight are. I cant put in words just how much all these stories are helping not just me but my sister too. I’m passing on all the encouraging messages. I really hope she hears them.
Thank again.
Sarah
I can second this I heard everyone and thought I was a burn victim cause my skull was on fire…craniotomy duh lol its a slow acceptance everything will be ok we are if you guys need support 
Angela,
I’ve got that one, as well. A beautifully told collection of stories about people with neurological deficits, excesses and other effects.
The book is actually The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. The eponymous man being “Dr P.” a well-respected music teacher in a college, who developed a visual agnosia, in other words the inability to recognise things he saw. He saw all of the features of an object but the translation into a thing that he recognised was lost.
There are all sorts of fascinating, amazing and I think touchingly told stories in that book.
Sarah,
All the best! We are all rooting for you and your sister!
Richard
@SarahA how are things going now? Praying that your sister is getting better! Sending love, prayers and encouragement. ️
Hi Kaiami,
Thank you for your prayers. Unfortunately my sister is still not so good. She opens her eyes and seems to respond at times but we’re not quite sure. We’re now hopeing for a miracle. Please keep praying.
Sarah.
I’m so sorry to hear that! I apologize for my late response, I’ve had a lot going on and haven’t been online much. I will keep her (and your family) in my prayers! I know when my AVM ruptured I was afraid I would never be the same. Now, 21 months later, I’m not the same, but I honestly felt better when I was feeling the symptoms of the rupture. It probably doesn’t make sense, I know it doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s how it is. I will say extra prayers for you guys right now! God bless!
Hi @kaiami,
I hope everything is going okay for you. You really are so strong to cope with what you are going through. I just couldnt imagine how tough it must be. Youre amazing!
My sister is looking much healthier the past few days. She’s been obeying some commands a bit stronger. She is able to bend her knees up on command now which has got us all very excited! She has a stronger hand squeeze and follows directions with her eyes more consistently but still very slowly. Do you think this is significant progress?
This is great news. When I woke up from my coma which was only 5 days I could really only blink and after a few days say one or two words. I had a lot of swelling on my brain and the pain meds were not touching the pain and I was super nausea. Do you know which side of her brain is impacted? If its her left side brain then her right side is going to be impacted and vice versa. Also so could her vision and hearing. This happened to my grandmother. I would keep switching sides and noticed I would get a response when I was on one side. Also keep reassuring her. I had really bad problems with short term memory. Maybe get her a pencil and paper - its different parts of your brain for speech and writing. I could see the words in my head but could not get them to come out of my mouth often saying the wrong word. When I had another stroke after my angiogram my husband got pen and paper and I was able to communicate. Big Hugs- Trust me she is in there fighting! Angela
Hi @Angela4,
Unfortunately it is her brainstem that has been impacted the most. The avm was on her cerebellum which has also been impacted but not as badly as the brainstem. Thats why its so concerning. They have found an infarct in the mid brain. We are still hopeful though since it seems she is understanding and also seems she can see. When we ask her to look at a particular person, she does it, just slowly. Her vitals are all good too which are functions of the brainstem; breathing, heart rate, temperature regulation etc. She is a long way away from using a pencil but i have been putting things in her hand like a perfume bottle and mp3 player and id help her press on the sprayer and buttons.