My mother suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, and she is in a coma. Can she recover?

Question

Hello doctor,

My mother suffered a hemorrhagic stroke a couple of months back. They had to put a tube in her head to drain the fluid, and also put her in a coma. I was told that she would have a slim chance of coming out of this coma. My mom eventually had a shunt put in her head, because the fluid would not drain the way they wanted. I did notice that when the shunt was put in, she started to show more activity. They keep telling me these are reactions from the coma. Another issue is some say she is still comatose while others say she is minimally conscious. The doctor said the other day that he did the other brain scan I requested, but there is still no sign of change. He also stated that if my mother has not improved now, she will never recover, and this is the state she will stay in. I know that I should not get my hopes up, but I also believe she could improve. I do not want to give up because this is my mother and I want a second opinion. I did a test on her and put a wooden object on her stomach, and told her to touch it. After a couple of times, she touched it. I explained this to the doctor, and he still was not convinced. Please help me.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com. The neurological deficit in a patient who suffered from hemorrhagic stroke depends on the areas of the brain affected and the pressure from the edema. The tube in the brain (external ventricular drain or ventriculoperitoneal shunt) are management for that edema pressure. With time, that blood starts to reabsorb. Some part of the brain might get permanently damaged and the remaining part may begin to take up the functions of damaged part (plasticity of the brain). But, this process is very slow and may take few months too. Until that time the supportive care has to be continued, like medical management, physiotherapy, nursing care, bladder, bowel, and back care. I would like to see the computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, Electroencephalography (EEG) along with hospital case summary for better judgment.