She went to sleep and woke up 30 years later (1998)(generationterrorists.com)
generationterrorists.com
She went to sleep and woke up 30 years later (1998)
http://www.generationterrorists.com/articles/30_years_later.html
70 comments
The husband dedication to support his wife is totally amazing.
What a badass. Tougher than hell.
That is fiction for you, it has amazing people in it.
But in real life this would be impossible medically, one person simply could not keep such a body functioning.
And more importantly mentally impossible.
And setting yourself up against fictional stories probably isn't good for you.
Fiction might be good to push yourself as a better person, but not to these ridiculous saccharine extremes.
With anything real, like palliative care, get support as soon as you can, by the time you are overwhelmed doing the paperwork and the waiting periods will be impossibly harder.
But in real life this would be impossible medically, one person simply could not keep such a body functioning.
And more importantly mentally impossible.
And setting yourself up against fictional stories probably isn't good for you.
Fiction might be good to push yourself as a better person, but not to these ridiculous saccharine extremes.
With anything real, like palliative care, get support as soon as you can, by the time you are overwhelmed doing the paperwork and the waiting periods will be impossibly harder.
I mean, didn't they make a movie called Awakenings about the true story of a bunch of people emerging from long-term vegetative states?
Google "L-dopa"
Google "L-dopa"
It sounds like there were some other people involved:
> He consulted experts, but no one could help her.
> After two years of physical therapy, he finally got her to the point where she could set up and walk, assisted on either side.
> She had cataract surgery, a hysterectomy and a hip replacement.
> a retirement community in Florida
> Dr Glenn Englander, who was treating her for high blood pressure the day before she awakened from her coma
> He consulted experts, but no one could help her.
> After two years of physical therapy, he finally got her to the point where she could set up and walk, assisted on either side.
> She had cataract surgery, a hysterectomy and a hip replacement.
> a retirement community in Florida
> Dr Glenn Englander, who was treating her for high blood pressure the day before she awakened from her coma
why are other people saying it is not fiction?
Is there any proof this is a true story?
The story probably happened, but the coma portion is embellished. It notes that she was able to participate in rehab and eat food, so she wasn’t unconscious in the traditional sense.
It sounds like there was spontaneous return of function, which happens in various degrees following stroke anyway. Residual function plateaus about 1-2 years after on average, but this case would be an outlier.
I am more intrigued which med the physician prescribed, and whether there’s current research to support its use in post-stroke care as a neuroprotectant.
It sounds like there was spontaneous return of function, which happens in various degrees following stroke anyway. Residual function plateaus about 1-2 years after on average, but this case would be an outlier.
I am more intrigued which med the physician prescribed, and whether there’s current research to support its use in post-stroke care as a neuroprotectant.
The Glasgow Coma Scale: https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/ef...
The NIH Stroke Scale gives a clearer picture of the degree of impairment from stroke: https://www.stroke.nih.gov/documents/NIH_Stroke_Scale_508C.p...
She's listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_awoke_from_..., in case that helps.
Funny that Wikipedia is used for verification. I'm not criticizing you; I reached for Wikipedia first thing after reading the link too.
Its source is poor quality and there aren't many good sources otherwise, so it's still suspect. https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=ryan&p=42&ite...
Its source is poor quality and there aren't many good sources otherwise, so it's still suspect. https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=ryan&p=42&ite...
I wondered, too, and there isn't a lot of reliable information about it online
I did a books.google.com search and there were no primary references, just a few lines in books about "amazing facts" and a reference to an episode of "Maury."
I was in a dead ass coma for a month. When I awoke I couldn't talk or move my arms and legs. After 3 months of daily in hospital rehab I could walk maybe 50 yards at a time and get up from a sitting position without aid and went home. It was a year before I felt I was normal. I was not overweight or in bad health before this. It's amazing how fast your body just quits if you don't move at all.
I was in an induced coma for a couple weeks, and intubated in the ICU for a total of about 30 days. When they deintubated me my breathing muscles were so weak I thought I would die of asphyxiation. They sent me home a few days later, as soon as I could climb a staircase (there were stairs leading to my front door).
Several days after returning home I got stuck in the bathtub: I couldn't lift myself out, my wife couldn't lift me. After several false starts, we got me out by me lifting up a couple inches, and my wife shoving a pillow under my butt, several times. :-)
I was back at (office) work 2.5 months later, and biking to work 3 months after that.
All of which to say: 100% agreed -- do absolutely nothing and the body just wastes away.
Several days after returning home I got stuck in the bathtub: I couldn't lift myself out, my wife couldn't lift me. After several false starts, we got me out by me lifting up a couple inches, and my wife shoving a pillow under my butt, several times. :-)
I was back at (office) work 2.5 months later, and biking to work 3 months after that.
All of which to say: 100% agreed -- do absolutely nothing and the body just wastes away.
"Lift assist" is a common 911 call here (California). Those of us without EMT training (myself included) are taught to look hard at these situations and if anything is amiss, call in the paramedics. That said, don't be afraid to call emergency services... if your district is anything like ours, we like to help and as long as you don't get in an ambulance, there's no charge :-)
I hear ya. I was in bed for a two days after having my appendix removed and for a few days just walking felt like I was climbing stairs.
You have endured something like extraordinary circumstances. Great that you R out of coma.
She could “set up and walk” while in a coma. I didn’t know you could do that.
https://www.cdc.gov/masstrauma/resources/gcs.pdf
Glasgow Coma Scale
Eye Opening Response • Spontaneous--open with blinking at baseline 4 points • To verbal stimuli, command, speech 3 points • To pain only (not applied to face) 2 points • No response 1 point
Verbal Response • Oriented 5 points • Confused conversation, but able to answer questions 4 points • Inappropriate words 3 points • Incomprehensible speech 2 points • No response 1 point
Motor Response • Obeys commands for movement 6 points • Purposeful movement to painful stimulus 5 points • Withdraws in response to pain 4 points • Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing) 3 points • Extension response in response to pain (decerebrate posturing) 2 points • No response 1 point
Categorization: Coma: No eye opening, no ability to follow commands, no word verbalizations (3-8) Head Injury Classification: Severe Head Injury----GCS score of 8 or less Moderate Head Injury----GCS score of 9 to 12 Mild Head Injury----GCS score of 13 to 15
Glasgow Coma Scale
Eye Opening Response • Spontaneous--open with blinking at baseline 4 points • To verbal stimuli, command, speech 3 points • To pain only (not applied to face) 2 points • No response 1 point
Verbal Response • Oriented 5 points • Confused conversation, but able to answer questions 4 points • Inappropriate words 3 points • Incomprehensible speech 2 points • No response 1 point
Motor Response • Obeys commands for movement 6 points • Purposeful movement to painful stimulus 5 points • Withdraws in response to pain 4 points • Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing) 3 points • Extension response in response to pain (decerebrate posturing) 2 points • No response 1 point
Categorization: Coma: No eye opening, no ability to follow commands, no word verbalizations (3-8) Head Injury Classification: Severe Head Injury----GCS score of 8 or less Moderate Head Injury----GCS score of 9 to 12 Mild Head Injury----GCS score of 13 to 15
Yeah, I wish the story gave a more precise explanation about her medical diagnosis. Even being able to walk with help doesn't fit my understanding of coma.
It sounds like she had a certain amount of function but no long term memory function.
Yeah, also "ate simple foods." These are red flags for me.
To answer both of you, it's basically sleepwalking. The person is not conscious, but is able to function in an instinctive manner.
There are stories of people in comas who were given a medication like zolpidem that wakes them, but it's actually sleepwalking and the person is not conscious. Search: https://www.google.com/search?q=zolpidem+coma
These kinds of cases can help explain what consciousness actually is, which is hardly a settled question.
There are stories of people in comas who were given a medication like zolpidem that wakes them, but it's actually sleepwalking and the person is not conscious. Search: https://www.google.com/search?q=zolpidem+coma
These kinds of cases can help explain what consciousness actually is, which is hardly a settled question.
On the other hand, she had no recollection of anything in between but seemed to very well recall what was recently happening before she fell into that state. Mentally what we'd call a coma even if her body was not at the level of a vegetable. Intriguing story either way.
Steve Wozniak mentions this happening to him after a plane crash. Where he had a period where he didn't form permanent memories, and when that passed and he was able to, it was as if he awoke from a coma, even though he was functioning and interacting with people during this time. Think if the Memento (kinda based on a real case) guy suddenly regained the ability to hold memories, he would "awake" and to a period years later.
Perhaps something like this happened, where she was "around" and "interacting" but regained the ability to store memories and thus she "awoke".
Perhaps something like this happened, where she was "around" and "interacting" but regained the ability to store memories and thus she "awoke".
No, "mentally what we'd call a coma" would involve being unconscious. Remembering anything is well beyond the bounds of a coma.
Maybe the goal was to give the story a scottish accent
Sounds shady and fake AF
My brother was in coma for a 1year, when he woke up, he couldn't speak for a few days and he couldn't walk at all for a few months
So 30 years in coma, and waking up as a granny, i doubt you can ever make it and be this aware
My brother was in coma for a 1year, when he woke up, he couldn't speak for a few days and he couldn't walk at all for a few months
So 30 years in coma, and waking up as a granny, i doubt you can ever make it and be this aware
It's real, and there's some weird coma recovery cases (e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/09/usa.richardlus...)
I'm unclear on the circumstances here. It says after 2 years she could sit up and walk and whanot. So what were the other 28 years? I always thought coma more or less meant like in a bed sleeping. Is it still a coma if you're able to stand and walk assisted? Or did I read that wrong?
What, you don't trust "generationterrorists.com"?
It looks like a classic E/N (everything/nothing) site.
I've never heard that term before and Google has failed me. Can you explain?
They were like web directories and the stuff they link to, but for one person's interests. The closest comparison in modern terms is a personal blog, but these would often host music and videos and random niche stuff like game save files and code.
They often had a MIDI file auto-play if you had a sound card with MIDI support. Fancier sites had an MP3, but not every computer could handle it. Some had guestbooks or forums.
Everything/nothing was usually abbreviated to e/n, but that leads to even fewer results on Google.
They often had a MIDI file auto-play if you had a sound card with MIDI support. Fancier sites had an MP3, but not every computer could handle it. Some had guestbooks or forums.
Everything/nothing was usually abbreviated to e/n, but that leads to even fewer results on Google.
Everything/nothing makes me think of excessive hyperbole
Wow, this is heartbreaking. I think I would rather just never come out of the coma - the trauma this poor women endured ….
At least she woke up before her husband died. Can you imagine waking up with the news that he passed after taking care of her for 30+ years?
This is the kind of detail a writer would throw into a heart wrenching story about love. A faithful husband dies just days before his wife wakes up from a 30 year coma.
If the wife wakes up soon after the husband dies you have to ask if there’s a causative relationship there- e.g., Munchausen by proxy
It's far more likely that two people in their 80s would die at approximately the same time by natural causes than anything like Munchausen's by proxy.
I didn’t say die
It's sad that her husband only lived for another 3 years after she woke up.
She didn't think it was traumatic, perhaps a little disappointed in her finite body, but she was happy about the relationship!
"marriage vows and promised to stay together"
"Our romance began all over again."
"tragic 1963 and the good final years she had with the man who loved her forever."
"marriage vows and promised to stay together"
"Our romance began all over again."
"tragic 1963 and the good final years she had with the man who loved her forever."
There is a movie loosely based upon her story.
Forever Love is a poignant new television movie about a woman who awakens from a 20-year-long coma and begins her life all over again. ... 24-year-old Lizzie suffers a stoke. ... 20 years after her stroke, Lizzie wakes up. Miraculously, Lizzie is pronounced perfectly healthy and begins to try to assimilate back into a world that has radically changed ... [1]
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145783/
Forever Love is a poignant new television movie about a woman who awakens from a 20-year-long coma and begins her life all over again. ... 24-year-old Lizzie suffers a stoke. ... 20 years after her stroke, Lizzie wakes up. Miraculously, Lizzie is pronounced perfectly healthy and begins to try to assimilate back into a world that has radically changed ... [1]
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145783/
50's to 80's seems like a much more dramatic jump on so many levels than 20's to 40's. For the latter, you are dropped into the second act of your life and expected to catch up to a new world. Fish out of water stuff.
The second, real story seems so much more tragic somehow.
The second, real story seems so much more tragic somehow.
I wonder if it only seems more dramatic because you are more familiar with the 50s and 80s than with the 20s and 40s? E.g. in many ways the 20s was a lot more liberal/"modern" than the 40s in a lot of places. I think a European going from the roaring 20s to the fascist/nazi 40s would have a hell of a shock.
[deleted]
Reminds me of this man http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6715313.stm
Reminds me of the "Goodbye Lenin" film, really good watch.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357
> The Vietnam War ended, astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal, communism collapsed and the world entered the computer age.
Americans tend to overestimate the importance of their events to describe the world changing.
Americans tend to overestimate the importance of their events to describe the world changing.
What are the hospital bills like in cases like this?
> The talented business-woman, who had run two apron shops near Toronto, Canada, before her illness, fell into a coma on Nov 22, 1963, aged 50.
Given that the woman was from Toronto, probably $0.
Given that the woman was from Toronto, probably $0.
I was in the ICU for a month after a motorcycle accident in the '90s. I didn't see all the bills, but one of them was for over $300K.
I had the "bad" insurance at work, which had bigger co-pays for day-to-day stuff, but happened to have no max on coverage. I paid nothing.
I had the "bad" insurance at work, which had bigger co-pays for day-to-day stuff, but happened to have no max on coverage. I paid nothing.
None, Medicare kicks in for cases like this.
US: $392,328,128.10 (She was not in network)
For a reprint from a newspaper there seems to be a lot of spelling mistakes…rally.
Perhaps they used OCR on the newspaper to generate the text.
I hope I don't get flagged for resolving this domain.
Well, let he who has never overslept cast the first stone...
plot twist, he was banging her every night while she was unconscious....but you know it was his wife....so