On the human mind - Is a semi-comatose person actually active within the mind?
Bharat Bhushan - 20 April 2014
A very close friend of mine is in a coma. He has been in a coma for many years, and luckily for him, he went into a coma while in Canada. I was absolutely certain that he would not have survived if he would have gone into a coma while in India. The health services in Canada have taken care of him splendidly. Most splendidly. The system also took care of his family and provided various forms of support. He is a friend from childhood and I was deeply struck by his slipping into a coma. He was ever smiling, always active, full of good and positive energy and tremendously happy. He was always with good intentions.
It seems that he went into a coma through some diabetic trauma. In the meantime, his sons have grown up and are becoming adults. They would have totally enjoyed him when they were young boys. The health services escorts him once in a week to his house, allows him to enjoy family life and happiness and then takes him back to the hospital.
I keep wondering about it. How would he journey back to the hospital after meeting his wife and sons? Would he know that he would not see them for a week? Can he measure the time in his semi-comatose mind and does he know that it is time to go back to the house? Whenever he is at the hospital, does he actually know that he is semi-comatose, or does he know that he is at the hospital, and that his condition is not normal at all? These and many other questions pain me when I think about him. I do want to go to Canada and jog him back to a normal life.
All these questions have made me to wonder about the matters of the mind. I feel that the mind is the most mysterious frontier that Science and Man has not explored fully and that there are many challenges. It is known that people in a coma rarely reverse out of the situation into a normal manner. A family that is proximate to the situation would certainly know that nothing would be normal in the future. So, how would they react? How would they plan? Would they begin to anticipate the changes that they would have to make? There is a not-so-recent study based on the diagnosis of several comatose patients that them ind always stays active in spite of the body being in a vegetative state. So, if the family and doctors presume that the comatose man is no longer active in a mental ability, is it wrongful diagnosis?
Fortunately, the family of my childhood friend have tremendous faith in the ability of my friend to get back to normal. But, for how long would they continue to do so? Being in Canada, the medical teams must have explored the recesses of his brain with MRIs and Scans. I wonder what did they find? In time, would my friend be neglected by the medical teams, merely due to boredom? It would have certainly happened thus in India, a very long time ago, for sure.
Surprising statistics points out that nearly 300,000 persons ae in the vegetative state in the US alone. Do we have such statistics in India? For each State, or district or city? One of the important medical journal of the world claimed that a study showed that people who have been in a vegetative state for more than a year have little chances of recovery. It also said that a duration of more than a year can be justification for withdrawing medical treatment or support. But, the Canadian health services are, luckily, not following this line of thought. That is good for my friend who has been improving steadily. There is a condition that is now recognised as 'minimally conscious', and that prevents health services from withdrawing medical support to semi-comatose patients.
Bharat Bhushan - 20 April 2014
A very close friend of mine is in a coma. He has been in a coma for many years, and luckily for him, he went into a coma while in Canada. I was absolutely certain that he would not have survived if he would have gone into a coma while in India. The health services in Canada have taken care of him splendidly. Most splendidly. The system also took care of his family and provided various forms of support. He is a friend from childhood and I was deeply struck by his slipping into a coma. He was ever smiling, always active, full of good and positive energy and tremendously happy. He was always with good intentions.
It seems that he went into a coma through some diabetic trauma. In the meantime, his sons have grown up and are becoming adults. They would have totally enjoyed him when they were young boys. The health services escorts him once in a week to his house, allows him to enjoy family life and happiness and then takes him back to the hospital.
I keep wondering about it. How would he journey back to the hospital after meeting his wife and sons? Would he know that he would not see them for a week? Can he measure the time in his semi-comatose mind and does he know that it is time to go back to the house? Whenever he is at the hospital, does he actually know that he is semi-comatose, or does he know that he is at the hospital, and that his condition is not normal at all? These and many other questions pain me when I think about him. I do want to go to Canada and jog him back to a normal life.
All these questions have made me to wonder about the matters of the mind. I feel that the mind is the most mysterious frontier that Science and Man has not explored fully and that there are many challenges. It is known that people in a coma rarely reverse out of the situation into a normal manner. A family that is proximate to the situation would certainly know that nothing would be normal in the future. So, how would they react? How would they plan? Would they begin to anticipate the changes that they would have to make? There is a not-so-recent study based on the diagnosis of several comatose patients that them ind always stays active in spite of the body being in a vegetative state. So, if the family and doctors presume that the comatose man is no longer active in a mental ability, is it wrongful diagnosis?
Fortunately, the family of my childhood friend have tremendous faith in the ability of my friend to get back to normal. But, for how long would they continue to do so? Being in Canada, the medical teams must have explored the recesses of his brain with MRIs and Scans. I wonder what did they find? In time, would my friend be neglected by the medical teams, merely due to boredom? It would have certainly happened thus in India, a very long time ago, for sure.
Surprising statistics points out that nearly 300,000 persons ae in the vegetative state in the US alone. Do we have such statistics in India? For each State, or district or city? One of the important medical journal of the world claimed that a study showed that people who have been in a vegetative state for more than a year have little chances of recovery. It also said that a duration of more than a year can be justification for withdrawing medical treatment or support. But, the Canadian health services are, luckily, not following this line of thought. That is good for my friend who has been improving steadily. There is a condition that is now recognised as 'minimally conscious', and that prevents health services from withdrawing medical support to semi-comatose patients.
No comments:
Post a Comment