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Global Anoxic Brain Damage

By June 6, 2018 - 2:48pm
 
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Last week my wife had cardiac arrest from fib of her heart she has been down ever since with what they say is global anoxic brain damage that she will never have life as we once knew her They seem to want to lean hard on us giving up on her Just hard to see she is unresponsive to commands she coughs sneezes twitches moves to touch at times I have been reading stories on here and this gives me hope to read what should I do want to give her a fighters chance to beat this but just so confused

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Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

 Hello BranFitz73. I'm glad you're  finding information on EmpowHER helpful. It looks like you have posted your question  twice. In case you missed the response I will repeat it below and hope you find this helpful. We know this is a a very stressful and confusing time.  

Your wife's  doctors have likely explained that Anoxic brain injury is a type of brain injury in which the brain becomes damaged from an inadequate supply of oxygen. If it is hypoxic, the brain only has a partial loss of oxygen, but if anoxic, there is a complete lack of oxygen going to the brain.The term global indicates the lack of oxygen impacted multiple areas of her brain.

Without oxygen, the brain cells become damaged. At about four minutes without oxygen, the brain cells begin to die.

Recovery from brain damage can be uncertain. It will also take time. Your wife's chances for recovery depend on how long and how severely she was deprived of oxygen. Brain injury patients often have involuntary movements in which they may seem to be functioning normally. I suggest you talk with her care team, which would be monitoring her status regularly, including her movements, and ask for an expert opinion on what her actions indicate and her prognosis. In terms of helping her pull through , if this was my spouse, I would want to know the hospital or provider's level of expertise and experience in treating brain injuring. The level of care and type of options available can vary greatly from a facility like a community center that sees few such patients to one that specializes in head and brain injuries. Otherwise I would try to find a local brain injury support group, or one online, and talk to others who have been through this. The best possible advice often comes from fellow caregivers and people who've been patients themselves. We wish the best for you, and your wife, in the days ahead.

Best,

Pat

June 6, 2018 - 3:46pm
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