5 cases of a surprising return from a long-term coma

In 2019, a resident of the United Arab Emirates, Munira Abdullah, regained consciousness in a private clinic in Germany after 27 years spent in a coma. A woman suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident when her car collided with a bus. Cases where people spend many years unconscious and then come back to life are very rare, but they still happen.

32-year-old Munira Abdullah was involved in a car accident back in 1991 on a highway near the city of Al Ain. When the woman saw that the collision with the bus was inevitable, she covered her son, who was with her in the car, with her body. The boy escaped with bruises, and the woman with an open head injury was taken to a local hospital.

When it became clear that doctors in the Emirates could not help the seriously injured Munira, she was transported to London. British doctors were also powerless – they only made an accurate diagnosis. Doctors have determined that the woman is in a state of minimal consciousness, which is characterized by the fact that the patient is in a coma, but at the same time retains sensitivity to pain.

For many years, Munira Abdullah was fed through a tube and tried to regain consciousness with physical therapy, but all in vain. It is not known what the fate of the patient would have been if the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, had not intervened in it two years ago. A member of the royal family donated a significant amount to the treatment of a woman in a specialized clinic in Germany, which finally had an effect.

Munira then returned to Abu Dhabi, where she began a long rehabilitation. For 27 years spent without movement, the woman's muscles atrophied and she was forced to re-learn the most basic things: to use cutlery, to talk, to walk.

In 1988, a railway worker from Poland, Jan Grzebski (Jan Grzebski), connecting two cars, got between them and received a monstrous blow to the head. He fell into a coma and came to his senses only 19 years later. His case is unusual not only for the length of time spent in a vegetative state. Jan fell out of reality back in socialist Poland, a relatively young man, and woke up under capitalism and found out that he had 11 grandchildren.

The story of the Pole has spread all over the world and is one of the most famous cases of coming out of a long-term coma. However, Grzebski himself assures that he was in a coma for only 4 years, and for the next 15 years he was completely paralyzed.

Police officer Gary Dockery (Gary Dockery) was shot in the head at the age of 33, trying to apprehend an armed criminal. Saving the man, the doctors performed a multi-hour operation, removing more than 20% of the brain. Unfortunately, they were unable to extract the bullet, as well as bring Gary back to consciousness after the operation. The policeman woke up himself, in 1996, 7 years after the fatal shooting, and immediately began to speak.

Surprisingly, Dockery retained memories of all the events leading up to his injury, and also recognized relatives and children. Only the moment of the chase after the criminal and the injury were erased from my memory. Unfortunately, Gary was not destined to live a long life – he died a year later after a miraculous recovery from a blood clot in his lung.

College student Sarah Scantlin (Sarah Scantlin) at the age of 18 was hit on a pedestrian crossing by a drunk driver. Several severe traumatic brain injuries led to the fact that the girl fell into a coma and spent about a month connected to life support systems. The doctors managed to achieve some positive dynamics in the treatment of the victim, but all she could do was breathe independently and swallow liquid food.

After 16 years, an experienced rehabilitation specialist began working with Sarah, who a year later managed to achieve a reaction to stimuli in the patient. On some actions of doctors, Sarah began to respond with shouts, and 20 years after the accident, in 2005, she uttered the first word. It was not possible to fully restore all the functions of the body and mental activity of Scantlin – she moves in a wheelchair, speaks indistinctly and is completely sure that she is still 18 years old.

In 1984, 19-year-old Terry Wallis (Terry Wallis) and his friend were riding in a car and, having lost control, fell into a pond. Terry's friend was killed, and he was found in the water only the next day. The guy miraculously survived, but his brain was severely damaged. Wallis spent 19 years in a coma and recovered in 2003. His first words were "mama, ""pepsi," and " milk."

The patient clearly remembered the events before the accident and the moment when the car fell into the river, but had no idea how much time had passed since then. He was sure that Ronald Reagan was still the president and was surprised by the technical innovations that had appeared in almost 20 years in his house. Wallis remains paralyzed, but can talk quite well.

Interestingly, the guy was considered a hopeless patient and he was only cared for, without making any attempts to rehabilitate. Doctors believe that Wallis was helped to return from oblivion by the hidden reserves of the brain, which "repaired" itself while its owner lay like a corpse and did not respond to any stimuli.