ask: my 32 year old daughter has sffered an anoxic brain injury, how can I help her

Hi Anonymous

Thanks for your question and I'm very sorry you and your daughter are going through this.

Here is some information about the treatments used for this kind of brain injury:

Initial Treatment
Treatment of anoxic brain damage depends on the cause. Initially, barbiturates may be used to slow down brain activity. Steroids and other medications may be used to reduce the swelling that accompanies injured brain tissue. This may help limit the amount of damage to the brain. The doctor will also increase the amount of oxygen reaching the brain. Efforts to cool the brain may also be used to help limit brain damage. In addition, hyperbaric oxygen treatment may be used in cases of anoxia due to carbon monoxide poising.

Rehabilitation
During rehabilitation, you and your family will work with:

■Physical therapist—helps retrain motor skills, such as walking
■Occupational therapist—works on improving daily skills, such as dressing and going to the bathroom
■Speech therapist—works on language problems
■Neuropsychologist—counsels on behavior and emotional issues related to the injury

Recovery can take months, or even years. In many cases, full recovery is never achieved. In general, the sooner rehabilitation starts, the better the outcome.

Medication
Your doctor may have you take the following medications:

■Anti-epileptic medications—to treat ongoing seizures
■Clonazepam (eg, Klonopin)—to treat muscle jerks

You can read a lot more on our special Anoxic Brain Injury page here: http://www.empowher.com/condition/anoxic-brain-injury

For additional information, read this article: http://www.empowher.com/anoxic-brain-injury/content/what-are-treatments-...

The fact that your daughter is not getting any kind of therapy at all is very worrisome. Most nursing homes have physical therapy programs - why is she not in one of these? Is she simply in bed all day?

Have your heard of stem cell treatments for anoxic brain injuries? We have talked with a parent of an adult child (also age 32) who was considering this. You can read her story here: http://www.empowher.com/community/ask/my-son-32-years-old-and-suffered-a...

Nursing homes have quarterly Plans of Care (POC) meetings where next of kin need to be contacted in order to invite them to the meetings. Have you attended these? Have you checked your daughters charts?

You are within your rights to call a meeting with the members of your daughters Plan of Care. I think this is a very good idea so you can sit down and talk about therapy for your daughter, something she should have been receiving from the get-go.

I hope this has helped you and please keep in touch with us!
~Susan

I would sure like to get ahold of you as I have a similar situation...it is so heartbreaking and we can benefit from each other. My email is debbiesharko@royallepage.ca
Take Care Deb