A famous song says: "There is only a moment between the past and the future." It is called our life. But what, even if this "moment" a person spends without consciousness? Is it worth holding on to in this case? No one will give an exact answer to this question. However, there are cases when a person has been between life and death for decades and grabbed this “moment”. Let's talk about the longest coma that a person has been in.
A dream of a lifetime
The most debt coma was recorded in the US. At the end of 1969, on New Year's Eve, a 16-year-old girl with pneumonia was admitted to the hospital. If this was a normal case in medical practice, she would have undergone a course of treatment and returned to a full life. But Edward O'Bar had diabetes. On January 3, insulin did not reach the circulatory system, and the girl lost consciousness for many years.
The last phrase of the modern "Snow White" was a request to her mother not to leave her. The woman kept her word: thirty-five yearsspent by the bed of her daughter. She celebrated all her birthdays, read books to her and believed in the best. I went out only to sleep and shower. In 2008, the mother died, and the sister of an unusual patient took over her burden.
In November 2012, at the age of 59, "Snow White" passed away. Thus, the longest coma lasted 42 years.
It is noteworthy that the poor thing spent all her unconscious years with her eyes open. She did not see or hear others, did not react to anything. It was only on the day of her death that Edward O'Bar could close her eyelids.
Is there any chance to wake up after many years?
Until recently, doctors were sure that between life and death a person is only the first month. Then his return to consciousness is impossible. Some relatives of patients did not like this situation, and they waited for years at the bedside of a loved one until he wakes up.
The longest coma, after which the patient began to react to others, lasted 20 years. That's how many years American Sarah Scantlin spent unconscious after she was hit by a drunk driver in a car. To be precise, she spent 16 years unconscious. Then she began to communicate with loved ones with the help of her eyes. After another 4 years, some reflexes and speech returned to her. True, Sarah, after waking up, sincerely believed that she was still 18 years old.
In fact, the longest coma, after which a person woke up, happened to a resident of Poland - Jan Grzebsky. The Pole spent 19 years unconscious. When Janwoke up, most of all he was amazed by the quantity and assortment of goods in stores. And for good reason. He “fell asleep” in the early eighties, when martial law was introduced in the country. Grzebsky woke up in 2007.
Case in Russia and Ukraine
In these countries, too, there are cases of a miraculous return to life. So, the Russian teenager Valera Narozhnigo came to his senses after 2.5 years of deep sleep. A 15-year-old boy found himself in a coma after receiving an electric shock.
Ukrainian young man, Kostya Shalamaga, spent 2 years unconscious. He ended up in a hospital bed after an accident. A 14-year-old boy riding a bicycle was hit by a car.
Of course, both of these examples can't get a place in the Guinness Book of Records in the Longest Coma category. But parents probably did not want the boys to become famous in this way. In both cases, relatives say that the miracle happened because the relatives prayed and believed in it.
Life after the "long sleep"
The longest coma that a person has ever come out of has forced scientists to return to the study of this unconscious state. It is now known that the brain is capable of repairing itself. True, it is not yet clear how to “turn on” this mechanism.
African researchers believe a cure for coma can be found. According to them, it is possible to bring a person to consciousness temporarily already today. Some sleeping pills have such properties. However, this issue has been little studied.
So far, according to observers, the hardest thing fora person who has been between life and death - psychological adaptation. It is difficult for the patient to believe that he has become older, his relatives have grown older, the children have grown up, and the world itself has changed.
Some people, after returning from deep sleep, simply do not understand their loved ones. So, for example, the Englishwoman Linda Walker, waking up, began to speak in the Jamaican dialect. Doctors believe that the case is related to genetic memory. Perhaps Linda's ancestors were native speakers of this language.
Why do people fall into a coma?
It is still not clear why some fall into this state. But each case suggests that some kind of deviation has occurred in the body.
Currently, more than 30 types of coma are known:
- traumatic (accident, injury);
- thermal (hypothermia, overheating);
- toxic (alcohol, drugs);
- endocrine (diabetes) and others
Any kind of deep sleep is a dangerous state between life and death. In the cerebral cortex, inhibition occurs, the work of the nervous system and blood circulation is disturbed. A person's reflexes fade. It looks more like a plant.
It used to be that a person in a coma does not feel anything. Everything changed after the incident with Martin Pistorius. The young man fell into a coma due to a sore throat, and lived in it for 12 years. After awakening in 2000, Martin said that he felt and understood everything, he simply could not give a signal. At presenttime the man is married and works as a designer.
Hyperglycemic coma, symptoms and emergency care
Diabetic who should be singled out in a separate row. It was in it that the first heroine of our article was 42 years old. The main thing is that at the initial stage of this disease, a person can be helped.
When the level of glucose in the blood rises in the body with diabetes and toxins accumulate, then hyperglycemic coma develops. Symptoms of the disease are as follows:
- growing weakness;
- always thirsty;
- loss of appetite;
- there are frequent urges to the toilet;
- drowsiness increases;
- skin turns red;
- breathing quickens.
After these symptoms, a person can lose consciousness, fall into a coma and die. To prevent this from happening, you need to urgently inject insulin intravenously or intramuscularly. And also call an ambulance.
The main thing is not to confuse this type of loss of consciousness with hypoglycemia. With the latest disease in the blood, blood sugar drops. Insulin in this case will only hurt.
