Sudden Unexplained Coma

Oh, my. Something that just comes out of nowhere with devastating results. Hoping for a full recovery.
 
Thanks but after reading about this I am not hopeful. Even with treatment most people die. Survivors are left with lasting brain damage. Only 2.5% of survivors escape with no brain damage. Not good.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about this. I'm thinking of you and sending wishes for strength and patience as you help her and her family through this trauma.
 
I know of 2 people that survived it. One was 1 yo and the other 20 yo. The 1 yo had no brain damage although the doctor thought she would and the other person went from being a super smart college student to having to work a menial job. Wow, I am so sorry.
 
So sorry to hear that your SIL is dealing with such a difficult situation. Sending you all strength.

omni
 
I wish your SIL all the best. Your forum family is praying for her.
 
Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I remember several years ago a guy I used to work with came down with some rare type of encephalitis like this - may even have been this same thing, I don't recall what his was. He survived after many weeks in the hospital. A young father of two little kids. He was severely brain damaged. He couldn't even carry on a conversation. I think our family has some very difficult weeks/months ahead of us.


It will be several days before we get the results of the lumbar puncture, but they started her on the Acicolvir just in case. The sooner the better. Waiting even a couple of more days could be too long. I am hopeful that since they caught it in under 48 hours that she will have a chance.

You just never know. Things can strike you from out of the blue. Appreciate each day you have.
 
That is very sad and hope for a full recovery.
 
MissMolly said:
Thanks but after reading about this I am not hopeful. Even with treatment most people die. Survivors are left with lasting brain damage. Only 2.5% of survivors escape with no brain damage. Not good.
Click to expand...
Our prayers are with you and your SIL There is still a good chance of recovery even with some brain damage. My wife had a subarachnoid hemorrhage and recovered mostly from it and was able to function.
 
MissMolly said:
Thanks but after reading about this I am not hopeful. Even with treatment most people die. Survivors are left with lasting brain damage. Only 2.5% of survivors escape with no brain damage. Not good.
Click to expand...


I'm visiting my sister, an OB/Gyn and she confirmed this. I'm so sorry this happened to your family. It's a reminder to all of us that each "normal" day is a blessing.
 
Hi Miss Molly,

Just saw this thread. Your SIL is in my prayers tonight. Thank you for keeping us posted. I am so sorry you, your SIL and family are faced with this. Seriously scary stuff to be faced with.
I am praying for the best possible outcome.
 
Oh MissMolly, this sounds so much like something that couldn't happen; you must feel like you're in a nightmare. I'm hopeful that since they did figure it out rather quickly, that her prognosis will be good.



Prayers for strength, guidance, grace and mercy for her, you and her entire family, and call her caregivers, in Jesus' name. Amen.
 
Spinal tap and MRI have both come back negative for Encephalitis so we are back to square one :(
 
MissMolly said:
Spinal tap and MRI have both come back negative for Encephalitis so we are back to square one :(
Click to expand...


Will continue to pray for her, your family and for her doctors. God Bless.
 
While it's great that it's not encephalitis, not knowing must be torture. I hope they figure it out soon and she recovers fully.
 
MissMolly said:
Spinal tap and MRI have both come back negative for Encephalitis so we are back to square one :(
Click to expand...

That sounds like good news but back to waiting for a diagnosis ...is she anymore alert today?
 
When my mom had that the tick bite last year, it was finally determined it was Ehrlichia Chaffeensis - tick borne rickettsial dz. This disease usually people under 10 and over 70, however. It took the doctors in the southern Ozarks seemingly forever to get the correct diagnosis. Because no one knew it was a tick bite at the time. They were off on the same Dr. House-like search that the OP has described. One of my nieces is a top level doctor in the East, and she 'helped' the local doctor. (I don't think he saw it that way). That diagnosis is also what a couple of the other older people in her church had. And it turns out there are both bacterial and viral tick borne diseases. Yikes. Here is an article that talks about the rise in tick borne diseases. Woman dies after contracting rare tick-borne virus | Fox News

edit: for reference, here is the CDC link to what my mom had https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/ehrlichiosis.html
 
Last edited:
ivinsfan said:
That sounds like good news but back to waiting for a diagnosis ...is she anymore alert today?
Click to expand...
I don't know yet. Her sister (my other SIL) is on her way into the hospital now and will update me. EEG shows that both temporal lobes are "sparking" which I would guess means she has brain activity and is not brain dead. They are thinking about taking her off the respirator today. All blood work came back as normal. I don't know where they go from here, but I will update as I find out more. Such a very strange situation.
 
timo2 said:
When my mom had that the tick bite last year, it was finally determined it was Ehrlichia Chaffeensis - tick borne rickettsial dz. This disease usually people under 10 and over 70, however. It took the doctors in the southern Ozarks seemingly forever to get the correct diagnosis. Because no one knew it was a tick bite at the time. They were off on the same Dr. House-like search that the OP has described. One of my nieces is a top level doctor in the East, and she 'helped' the local doctor. (I don't think he saw it that way). That diagnosis is also what a couple of the other older people in her church had. And it turns out there are both bacterial and viral tick borne diseases. Yikes. Here is an article that talks about the rise in tick borne diseases. Woman dies after contracting rare tick-borne virus | Fox News

edit: for reference, here is the CDC link to what my mom had https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/ehrlichiosis.html
Click to expand...
I have asked my other SIL to really push looking for a tick bite. Funny you mentioned House - my SIL and I just talked about how much we need him this morning.
 
Ticks are scary. They are all over the place in the woods and on trails...we find one or two on us each day. They say these diseases and bites are "rare" but if someone as paranoid as I am gets ticks on me, how do kids who roll around in the grass all day not have 100% disease rate?
 
OK, I was wrong. The "sparking" in the temporal lobes is indication of seizures, so they are putting her on seizure medication. Also keeping her on the antibiotic until they get final lumbar puncture results which take several days.
Blood work is normal. Vitals are good. No fever. Still on respirator and will not come off until she is alert.

Hooking her back up to EEG and this time will run for 24 hours instead of just one hour.
Still comatose. Still no arousal at all.
 
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