My 52 year old brother suffered a SAH on January 13, 2013. He was found unconscious on the floor of his home. Since then he has remained in Neuro ICU and has yet to regain consciousness. He is on a ventilator, has a drain in his head, has had 4 coils, 4 potential vasosapasms and a seizure. The first two potential vasospasms were treated with angioplasty, the other two with meds. He has wet lungs. He cannot tolerate the feeding tube so is being given nutrients through an IV. He cannot tolerate being moved at all as his ICPs skyrocket. He has no response to pain, no gag reflex and no corneal response and is heavily sedated. He is so ill there is a one on one nurse in his room all the time. I am very frustrated with the lack of information the doctors are giving. There response is always "he is here". Where is here? At this point I do not see much hope for a meaningful recovery. Has anyone else gone through this? Any insight? Sometimes I feel as though the doctors are using him as a test case. Any input is appreciated.
Thank you for your reponse, I appreciate the insight. I hate to be callous but did your mother have a full recovery? They are telling us that the left side of my brother's brain has diminished blood flow.
Ironically about 2 hours after I posted this my brother passed away. Thank you for your reponses and time.
Hi Mags ... I just answered under your profile, but as you read stories you will see that your brother is so early in the healing stage...please keep the hope and faith going...many here have been where your brother has been and have recovered, but this journey takes time...sending out a prayer to you and your brother...~ Colleen
Oh Geez Mags...just went up and read responses and see that your brother has passed...I am soooo sorry....he was really young... gotcha in my thoughts ~ Colleen
I am very sorry for your loss
Thank you.
Hello Mags,
I'm so very sorry to hear about your brother....Theres nothing one can say to make your loss hurt any less...Just know that I've got you in my thoughts and prayers.... Janet
Thank you so much, all the thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
Thank you.
Hi Colleen, you had asked whether or not my brother had "wet lungs" before the SAH or after. To the best of my knowledge it was only after. He was a perfectly healthy 52 year old man who hugged his daughters goodbye at noon as they headed back to college. His wife took the girls so my brother was home alone when it happened. A friend was coming over to watch football and found him on the kitchen floor, foaming at the mouth and his body "mottled." As tragic as this is there are many things I am thankful for, he was going to drive the girls back but his wife told him to stay home and relax. He drove a semi-truck for UPS for 32 years, can you imagine if he had been driving the truck in Chicago traffic when this happened? According to the doctors they knew his brain was damaged as well as his lungs. He then went into cardiac arrest out of the blue. He coded, I rushed to the hospital but he was gone before I got there.
Thank you.
Hello Mags, I am so sorry for your loss. remember to take care of yourself . You have suffered a trauma and will be dealing with this loss for some time. Be good to yourself and know that you did all you could and your brother is not suffering. Prayers for you, donna w
Thank you, Donna and Harold. We laid him to rest today. The most positive thing to come out of this is that his corneas are helping people see, his bone marrow was used for a transplant, they are using his long bones and stem cells for research. His brain is also being donated so that doctors may study it and, hopefully, help other SAH victims in the future.