Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: jilllynn5555 on 13/10/2003 03:01:05
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My roomate feel down 6 cement stairs outside and hit the back of her head on the cement concrete that was at the bottom of the stairs. She was only laying there for approx. 2 minutes for the ambulance, she was unconscious immediately following the accident. Since I am her roommate I have no say in what happens to her. Right now (26 hours after her surgery- 10/12/03 @ 10:02PM EST) she is showing no signs of improvement and the doctors are saying things like she only has a few stems that are showing little signs of brain activity. They mention that she couchs when they remove the life support, but they do not feel that she is going to make it. She is not close with her family and they seem to want to donate her organs (she is a very giving person). I just feel that they are making decisions too fast and need to give her time to rest and recover. He brain pressure or swelling is at 110 and dropped to 75 then spiked back to 108 (I was told this number should be in the 10-15 range). I just don't want them to do anything too soon, but I also do not want her to be in a vegatable state for the rest of her life (she is very active).
I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about the brain and how these so called stems work? Or anything about how long someone can be in a comma? Or what likelihood they have of becoming fuctional folllowing a comma?
I am going to research the best I can for now. Thanks
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You and your room-mate are in my prayers. I hope all goes well.
What was the surgical procedure done? I know that there are several knowledgeable people on here and I hope you can find some answers. I commend you for searching on her behalf. That's a true friend. You never know, it could be exactly what needs to be done. Most importantly, be there for her. I understand that she can hear you. It never hurts to talk to someone in that situation.
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Brain injuries are so depressing, because sometimes even when the surgery is a success, the patient never wakes up. From what I'm hearing from you, it doesn't sound good. The stems they are talking about, I suspect, it the brain stem which regulates very basic life functions, ie breathing, pulse, etc. That's all that's left of her brain. When the intracranial pressure is too high, the brain begins to die. It is in a closed compartment with no room for expansion. If it swells too much, the pressure inside the skull compresses the tissue, prevents circulation, and the brain tissue dies. Also, the brain can herniate down the brain stem which will result in death. I don't think she will wake up, and donating her organs might be the only way to assure that some part of her survives in some way. It gives meaning to the senselessness of the accident. I'm sorry to hear of your loss, but it's not a thing about which more time will make a difference. The damage is done, and it's unfortunately permanent. Wish I had better news for you.
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I have a friend that, as a child, had a "shunt" in his head. I don't know the details, but it was to drain off fluids I believe. Isn't there a way to relieve pressure in the cranium to prevent the tissue damage? I would think that even taking off the skull cap (temporarily)to save the brain would be worth it. Can you give me some insight on this? It's hard to believe that there is nothing to be done for the brain swelling. What about applying cold? Help me understand this.
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Jilllynn5555, sounds like all the conventional paths to recovery have been followed. The only thing I can think of is to do the unconventional...I refer to healing through the energy field.
Barbara Ann Brennan has an M.S. in Atmospheric Physics and is a former research scientist for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Her book Hands of Light may offer some hope for your friend if you can either read and apply it quickly enough, or find someone already knowledgable in the field. Please keep us posted, you and your friend are in my prayers.
PS - another unconventional option is to find a Reiki Master to treat your friend
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The brain is very vascular, and any time blood sits in the arteries and veins and doesn't circulate effectively, the fluid in the blood leaches out into the tissues and causes edema (swelling). The brain needs a constant supply of osygen or it begins to die quickly, ie, the survival rate of someone who's been in cardiac arrest for 10 minutes without CPR is zero. The brain tissue is already destroyed.
The shunt you refer to is probably for hydrocephaly, and was placed before the intracranial pressure was significantly elevated, and remember to that in an infant, the openings (sutures) in the skull are not fused so there's room for expansion which alleviates damage to the brain. The area of the brain being drained in in the ventricles -- open areas of the brain where cerebralspinal fluid is. If the drainage from the ventricle is blocked, you get hydrocephaly. In her roommates case, the swelling is from trauma and bruising to the brain itself. And the swelling is in the tissue itself, so there's no way to drain it. They probably did a surgery to drain the hematoma, or blood clot from the fall, but the swelling to the brain is what causes her not to wake up. Anything that could have been done, should have been done almost immediately to get any effect. It's really too late now. Obviously, as I always say, God is the ultimate chief-of-staff, but it would take a miracle now. These are the patients we pray for.
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It comforts me to know that medicos are praying for their patients. Our doc and nurse prayed with my wife and I with Gracen. Everything was fine, but it made us feel better. It certainly can't hurt.
Thank you for the information. I just hate to hear of something that cannot be fixed. While I'm thinking on that, I truly hated the movie "John Q." It was a good movie, no doubt, but it pissed me off to no end. I just want people to get all the help they need...all measures.
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Didn't know there was a problem with Gracen. You wouldn't know it by how healthy he looks now. I don't think I'm the only one out there who prays. I do silent prayers to myself all the time when working. I think a lot of us do but don't admit it. I know when I would have one come into the ER just about bled out from a stab wound or car accident, I "prayed" many an IV in. It is really discouraging to not be able to fix something and just have to sit back and let death win. I hate that feeling. It amazes me today that even with all our technology, people still bleed to death sometimes. You'd think at least we could stop that, but not always.
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Oh no, Gracen is healthy as a horse. In fact, he came out ready to go. I didn't mean to insinuate that. The meds prayed with us to ease our nerves. Now, Ian was a little complicated. He didn't want to come out straight. He wasn't breech, but he caught his head on the pelvic bone and had to be pulled out with salad tongs. He had a "strawberry hemo-something" on his head. It was like a little cherry on top until he was 3 and then faded.
I'm always amazed with what we cannot do, as well. I'm a problem solver on a daily basis and think that there's got to be a way to fix anything. However, my perceptions of what needs to be fixed can be distorted. I'm in a different field and don't have to compete against death. My heart goes out to anyone that has to fight that battle. I hope that if ever in medical trauma, I'm treated by the silent praying meds as yourself.
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And I'm sure you will be, but you won't know it. BTW, the salad tongs are called forceps. They used them on my first too. They look barbaric but are very effective.
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When you're not anesthetized they feel pretty barbaric too, but they do get the baby out.