Brain Injury Recovery

While coma recovery is not always possible, coma patients can and do recover. This happens whether their coma lasts for a few hours, a few weeks or even years. The amount of recovery will vary with the severity of the traumatic brain injury or brain infection that caused the coma. If the coma was caused by acute alcoholism or drug overdose, recovery may be equally dicey.

Since every brain injury is different, the right treatment and a rehab program will be customized to the needs of the patient. As the person regains awareness and cognitive abilities increase, the therapy will be adjusted. It's sometimes very troubling and problematic for the family, but the patient will have to be moved to different medical facilities as therapy changes or his condition reaches a plateau.

Since family members have never dealt with this situation before (unless fate has cruelly selected them a second time), they are often at a loss to find resources for rehabilitation. The social worker, patient care coordinator or ombudsman at a hospital should be able to get them started with booklets or pamphlets describing their options for obtaining help. In addition, the Brain Injury Association of America can provide a Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Brain Injury Rehabilitation Programs.

Some Nurses Have A Special Gift

The nursing staff that cares for a patient in a coma is usually the first to notice signs of awakening. They know the patient is probably more aware of their surroundings than anyone else realizes, including being able to hear what's going on around them. Nurses with a special gift can bring many patients out of comas by talking to them about their lives and interests, or anything else positive that comes to mind. Definitely, they play what the family has told them is the patient's favorite music.