My sister has a heart disorder called "Long QT Syndrome" which caused her to go into cardiac arrest that resulted in her having brain damage,.
Rate This
All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.
Add a Comment6 Comments
Hi Skenneyw-
There are a lot of factors involved in brain injury. Your question is pretty general-for instance, I'm wondering how long she was anoxic, how serious was the brain injury, what is her condition now, how old is she, etc. Generally speaking, the brain is a pretty wonderous thing and after an injury there is usually some recovery, although again, it depends on how severe the injury is. It can take a long time to see results, and sometimes the recovery is hard to predict.
I have seen patients with terrible brain injuries recover function that no one expected, but it took a lot of time and physical and occupational therapy. In order to talk about your sister's situation, I would need to hear more about it. Are you comfortable sharing more details?
I'm sorry you and your sister are going through this. Brain injury is really difficult to deal with emotionally. Please let me know if you can share more information so we can talk about it further.
April 1, 2010 - 7:00amThis Comment
Thank you for taking time out for me. My sister is 42 years old and on March 30, around 10pm she regained consciousness but only for a short period of time. myself and my mom were at her bedside and she started making grunting noises (she has a trachea in her throat) my mom just continued to talk to her and tell her how much we love her and she broke out crying and she was trying so hard to talk and I screamed, I was so happy. Then I started telling her that we missed her so much and that we are praying so hard for her and that she was going to be okay and she started crying again. Then as I was telling her what happened to her and where she was at I played a gospel song for her telling her to call on the Lord and she started crying again, this was the happiest moment in my life. Her condition today is she's coughing, sneezing, yarning, responding to pain but she is posturing at times and she is back in that sleep-wake stage and she is on a ventilator using about 10% of support.
April 13, 2010 - 8:31pmI can really relate to all the ups and downs of this. My 83 year old father was admitted to the hospital on 8-7-2010 with a 103 temperature-started on anti-biotics. The next morning, went into septic shock because of an infection in his leg (which ended up busting-filled with infection and pus, kidneys shut down and into cardiac arrest for 10 minutes. The doctors didn't hold out much hope. He was on a ventilator followed up by a trach, dialysis, feeding tube. He was transferred to a Long Term Acute Care Hospital for about 3 weeks.
November 4, 2010 - 10:06amHe is now off of kidney dialysis. He was transferred to a rehab facility to wean him off of the trach. We have been plagued with urinary tract infections, low red blood cell count and trying to get that leg healed up. He was more responsive in the LTAC hospital - opening his eyes, moving his legs and arms around, responding to music and my voice (I did a lot of singing and reading) but not as responsive since being moved into this facility. He squints his eyes and puckers his mouth and will occasionally squeeze my hand. He stares at the ceiling alot and I literally have to crawl up on the bed and make him look at me. He has been yawning alot and he does respond to stimuli. He was also on the ventilator using very little support but they had turn it back up until his red blood cell counts go back up. There is very little family and I am the only one that can visit him. I am just so scared all the time! I have been nursing a sick mother for 2 years also and I got the double whammie. Don't know if I am coming or going. One thing I have done is to keep a journal each time I visit. If I get "some type" of response I make sure the nurses make a note of it. Keep track of your loved ones other medical conditions as well - if you don't - no one else will. I am praying he will recover to a somewhat good quality of life. This is my pappy and I don't care if he is 83 years old. He still has a lot of living to do and a lot of people who love him. Just keep talking, reading, playing music, do physical therapy (working her/his fingers) to they don't become stiff. I rub his hands and arms with lotion and tell him...daddy we are going to do exercises and there I go. One.two.three.four on each finger and move his wrists and elbows around also. I rub his sholders and tickle the bottom of his feet. Keep them stimulated! Tell them DON'T GIVE UP! I know it is hard on the family (sometimes I feel like I am going to crack) but imagine how hard it is on them. They can't tell you what is going on in their mind. I never thought I would be faced with a situation like this but I just take it a day at a time. I use to see "what if this and what if that happens tomorrow, next week, next month. I just try to calm down my mind and focus on "today". Alot of bad days but every once in a while some good. I know it is going to take time so just hang in there. God Blessings
Hi Again Skenneyw-
I'm so glad your sister is improving. I have personally seen people recover quite a bit of function after something like this, but it can take a very long time and a lot of therapy. It sounds like her brain may not be fully stable yet. Sometimes it takes a long time for all the swelling and irritation to go down.
There very best thing you can do for your sister is be there, talk to her, sing familiar songs, talk about shared memories, and be very patient because if she is going to recover any function it is going to be a long road with hard work and lots of ups and downs.
I wish you all the best.
April 15, 2010 - 7:10amI truly appreciate you for taking the time to talk me. I am in such a bad way and I pray all day and night everyday that God allows her to recover. I love her so much and my heart aches so bad and I can't sleep because all I do is think about her and I miss talking to her, laughing, arguing, and all the other things that sisters do together. I try to do what I need to do for my own family but it's hard because I worry so much about her when I'm not in her presence. I have decided to seek professional counseling so that I can come to terms with her illness. You are heaven it feels soooo good to have a perfect but kind stanger to show concern, especially during a time like this. God bless you and I will keep you lifted in prayer for ever. Thank you so much
April 15, 2010 - 9:29pmDear skenneyw,
Please let me know how your sister is doing. My 11 year old son has long QT syndrome and is recovering now. My prayers are being answered! Just keep praying and I am sure she will be fine!
I know what you are going through.
Please keep in touch...
May 4, 2011 - 8:47pm