It’s Possible To Be In Coma For 5 Weeks And Not Die- Doctor

A medical practitioner at the  Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH),  Dr Solomon Maurice, has reacted to the recovery of veteran broadcaster, Timawus Mathias, who regained consciousness after five weeks in coma.

Mathias, who retired from the Nigeria Television Authority, Yola, Adamawa State as a manager, posted the news of his recovery on Facebook on Monday.

 He had stated: “This has miraculously restored itself and I hope and pray it remains so. I came under the weather and was in a coma for 5 weeks.  When I came round I found I had been spun out of this cyclone of social media. I will tell my story in due course. For now help me sing Hallelujah, glory to God. “

Dr Maurice, who spoke to THE WHISTLER, said it is possible for a patient in coma to come alive again after weeks.

He said,  “Yes, it’s possible, but it all depends on the medical condition involved. If there’s a brain injury, especially someone with cerebral Oedema, that is to say involving swelling, such can trigger unconsciousness, but when it subsides, the patient can improve and move into consciousness.

“Sometimes it could be Metabolic. Someone that also has a metabolic coma, for example,  coma resulting from kidney disease, acute liver failure or any other form of metabolic disease, and has been treated, the patient in coma improves and regain consciousness too.

“So, it’s possible for someone in coma for 5 weeks to regain consciousness. It’s very possible, but like I said earlier, it all depends on the medical condition the patient is suffering from.”

Speaking further, he explained how the process works: “Some people may also regain consciousness but not fully. There’s what we call ‘Subdural Hematoma’ (a collection of blood below the inner layer of the dura, but external to the brain and arachnoid membrane) and Intracranial Bleeding (when blood suddenly bursts into brain tissue, causing damage to the brain).

“For someone suffering from Intracranial bleeding, when there’s bleeding into the brain, it can connect and form into a mass partially solidified in form and form hematoma. It can also compress the brain,  and you know, the skull does not expand, so once there’s this connection the functions of the brain can be affected.”

He added that the patient eventually comes to life once the patient with this medical condition gets rectified.