The longest coma from which they came out. Coma and cases of prolonged stay in it. Reference. Life after a "long sleep"

Her mother, Catherine, remembered that day very well all her life - firstly, it was the 22nd anniversary of their wedding with Edward's father, and secondly, before the very moment of oblivion, her daughter managed to ask her mother not to leave her.

Edward O "Bara photography

And troubling days began for Eduarda's parents. They all expected that their daughter was about to come out of a coma, but days passed, then weeks, after months, and Eduarda continued to be in a state of sleep.

No one knew then that this would be the longest coma in the history of medicine, which would last 42 years. And then the girl's parents were on duty day and night near her bed, turned her over to prevent bedsores, fed her through a tube and did not take their eyes off the apparatus, every minute expecting a miraculous awakening.

Edward O "Bara photography

Alas, Eduardo was inscribed on the stars to become the record holder for being in a coma. Keeping her promise, her mother continued to take care of her, and in order to pay the bills from the hospital, the girl's father had to work three jobs. But they still hoped, and in the end they kept their promise, not abandoning their daughter for the rest of their lives. So, first, Edward's father died in 1976, and Catherine died in 2008, leaving Eduarda in the care of her younger sister.

And Eduarda's fragile life continued, many media outlets had already written about her, and people who called Eduarda Sleeping Snow White began to come to Katherine's family home. It was reminiscent of a pilgrimage, as many believed that touching a sleeping Eduarda brought health and good luck.

Edward O "Bara photography

Edward O'Bara lived to be 59 years old and died in 2012, having spent 42 long years in a coma.

V different time there was heated debate about the humanity of such a maintenance of life, but for Catherine, who devoted 35 years of her life to caring for her daughter, the question was never raised that way. Firstly, she was bound by a promise that she made to her seriously ill daughter many years ago, and secondly, all these years, both she and her husband lived in the hope that the coma would end sooner or later, and their Edward would be with them again ... However, she was with them - Catherine read aloud to her, put on records for her, arranged her birthdays, and did everything as if her daughter had just lay down to sleep. As time has shown, it was a very long dream that lasted more than four decades.

Edward O "Bara photography

A book was written based on the history of this family, and many celebrities and politicians have visited Catherine's house, including Bill Clinton; The media covered this story extensively. And Eduard O'Bara entered the history of medicine after spending 42 years in a diabetic coma.

Best of the day

Coma, coma (from the Greek koma - deep sleep, drowsiness) is a life-threatening condition characterized by loss of consciousness, a sharp weakening or lack of response to external stimuli, the extinction of reflexes until they disappear completely, a violation of the depth and frequency of breathing, a change in vascular tone, increased or slowed heart rate, violation of temperature regulation.

Coma develops as a result of deep inhibition in the cerebral cortex with its spread to the subcortex and lower parts of the central nervous system due to acute circulatory disorders in the brain, head injuries, inflammation (with encephalitis, meningitis, malaria), as well as as a result of poisoning (barbiturates, carbon monoxide, etc.), at diabetes mellitus, uremia, hepatitis. In this case, there are violations of acid-base balance in the nervous tissue, oxygen starvation, ion exchange disorders and energy starvation of nerve cells.

The coma is preceded by a precomatous state, during which the development of these symptoms occurs.

The coma lasts from several hours to several days, less often - more; in this it differs from fainting, which does not last long (from 1 to 15 minutes) and, as a rule, is caused by sudden anemia of the brain.

It is often difficult to pinpoint the cause of a coma. The rate of development of the disease is of great importance. The sudden development of a coma is characteristic of vascular disorders (cerebral stroke). A coma develops relatively slowly when the brain is affected by an infectious nature. Symptoms of a coma with endogenous intoxications - diabetic, hepatic, renal coma - increase much more slowly.

Exit from a coma under the influence of treatment is characterized by a gradual restoration of the functions of the central nervous system, usually in the reverse order of their oppression. First, corneal (corneal) reflexes appear, then pupillary reflexes, the degree of autonomic disorders decreases. The restoration of consciousness goes through the stages of deafness, confusion, sometimes delirium, hallucinations are noted. Often, during the period of coming out of a coma, there is a sharp motor restlessness with chaotic discoordinated movements against the background of a stunned state; convulsive seizures are possible, followed by a twilight state.

Coming out of a coma after a long stay.

V June 2003 39-year-old US resident Terry Wallis came to after being in a coma for 19 years. Terry Wallis fell into a coma after a car accident in July 1984 when he was 19 years old. All these years, Terry Wallis was under the supervision of doctors from the Stone County Rehabilitation Center. In 2001, he began to communicate with relatives and hospital staff using elementary signs, and on June 13, 2003, he spoke for the first time. Terry Wallis is paralyzed and moves in a wheelchair.

In 2006, Terry Wallis still needed help with eating, but his speech continued to improve and he could consistently count to 25.

V June 2003 resident of china Jin Meihua woke up from the coma in which she had been for the last four and a half years. She suffered a severe brain injury after falling off a bicycle. Due to the severity of the injuries, the doctors had little hope of Jin's recovery. All these years, her husband was next to Jin Meihua, caring for and taking care of his wife.

January 21, 2004 The media reported that a patient who had been in a coma for a year and a half regained consciousness at the Al-Salam International Hospital in Cairo. The 25-year-old Syrian got into a car accident in Lebanon in 2002. From his severe head injuries, he fell into a coma, his heart stopped several times, the patient was connected to an artificial respiration unit. He was first treated at an American hospital in Beirut, and then he was transported to Cairo, where he underwent a number of neurosurgical operations. Having regained consciousness, the Syrian was able to move his arms and stand, understand speech and began to try to speak himself. This is a very rare case in medical practice when a patient with such severe injuries experienced a prolonged coma and came to his senses.

V April 2005 American firefighter 43 year old Don Herbert(Don Herbert) came out of a 10-year coma. Herbert fell into a coma in 1995. During the extinguishing of the fire, the roof of the burning building collapsed on him. After the oxygen in the breathing apparatus ran out, Herbert spent 12 minutes under the obstruction without air, resulting in a coma. In February 2006, Don Herbert died of pneumonia.

June 2, 2007 the media reported that the resident of Poland is a 65-year-old railway worker Jan Grzebski(Jan Grzebski) has recovered from a 19-year coma. In 1988, Grzebski was seriously injured in a railway accident. According to doctors, he had no more than three years to live. In the same year, the 46-year-old Pole fell into a coma. For 19 years, Grzebski's wife was daily at her husband's bedside, every hour, changing the position of his body to avoid muscle atrophy and the spread of infections. Having regained consciousness, the Pole learned that now all his four children were married and married, and that he now has 11 granddaughters and grandchildren.

Coma is considered one of the most difficult and unpredictable conditions for patients and doctors. The coma theme attracts fans of mysticism, as there are many fascinating stories of people who have experienced this state.

Some former patients claim that they saw the tunnel and the light, contemplated their own physical body from the side, etc. longest coma in the world... To understand how this is possible, you need to know what a coma is.

Coma characteristic

The word "coma" in the Greek language means "deep sleep." If a person is completely unconscious due to a pathological condition, which differs in the maximum degree of CNS depression, then doctors diagnose a coma. However, it cannot be called a disease. It occurs as a consequence of a head injury or is a complication of a medical condition. The longest coma in the world lasted over 37 years. This is confirmed by the documents.

What is a coma

Doctors distinguish between somnolent and waking coma. The first is characterized by a darkened consciousness of a person who is in a state of constant drowsiness. In the second type of coma, the patient experiences complete apathy and indifference to everything, maintaining an autopsychic orientation.

Experts say that the coma cannot last more than a month. Further, the body enters the vegetative stage. Simply put, after a month, a person exists as a plant. He retains vital functions, but mental activity is completely absent. And this situation can persist for years. In a coma, metabolic processes change in the body, one of which is combined encephalopathy.

The duration of the coma depends on the severity of the brain damage. The longer the coma lasts, the less likely a person has to "return" to this world, and the more real the death becomes. If, after falling into a coma, 6 hours have already passed, and the patient's pupils do not respond to a ray of light, then this is a very formidable symptom. Doctors say that in this case, a person may experience brain death. He is no longer able to perform any functions, and recovery is impossible, since the brain tissue is destroyed.

Therefore, people who have been in a coma for a long time do not return to normal life. A striking example is the longest coma in the world, which lasted 37 years and 111 days. American Elaine Esposito (Tarpon Springs) fell into a coma at the age of 6. She underwent an operation to remove appendicitis, after which she no longer regained consciousness (1941). The prolonged coma ended in death when the woman was 43 years old.

If a person has recovered from a coma, then he goes through a long recovery period, which sometimes takes years. Those who have fallen into a coma have a special diet, and some cannot breathe on their own. Therefore, they cannot do without medical help, even after improving their health.

Coma reasons

The longest coma in the world is simply impossible to explain medically. Doctors do not know why some patients have not come to their senses for many years. There are more than 500 causes of coma. But most often it develops due to a violation of blood circulation in the brain (stroke).

Coma can occur after traumatic brain injury or poisoning. But any coma lasts no more than 4 weeks. What happens to a person after this period is actually not a coma. If the patient does not recover, then he goes into a vegetative state. The longer a person is in a coma, the less likely they are of a positive outcome. A man-made coma is general anesthesia. This is a manageable condition, however, in some cases there are complications.

Coma is an ordeal

It is hard not only for the patient himself, but also for his relatives. In the movies, patients are often shown in a coma. However, things look different on the screen. In reality, without the active help and support of loved ones, without careful care, a person has almost no chance of recovery.

One of the main consequences of coma is a deterioration in the quality of thinking, memory, as well as changes in behavior. A person may partially lose his previous skills, ability to work and behave in such a way that his relatives practically do not recognize him. The magnitude of the loss depends on how long the patient has been in a coma. For some people, normal speech is restored only after a few months.

The longest coma in the world recorded in Miami. The woman spent almost her entire life in a coma. She died at the age of 59 without regaining consciousness. This is Edward O'Bar, who was dubbed "Sleeping Snow White" by the media in the past. She was 16 years old when she had a diabetic coma. Eduarda did not regain consciousness for 42 years! Interestingly, she did not close her eyes. They were constantly open, but there was no consciousness. The woman saw nothing, did not hear or perceive anything.

Before the coma, she asked her mother not to leave her. The mother kept her promise and took care of her daughter for the rest of her life - 35 years. After the death of her mother, her sister began to look after Eduarda. She witnessed the departure of "Sleeping Snow White" to another world. At the time of Edward's death, she closed her eyes.

Curious fact

Experts have repeatedly tried to find out what caused the longest stay in a coma in the world. To this end, a study was conducted, during which doctors from the UK and Belgium managed to establish contact with a patient who had been in a coma for 10 years. Scott Rutley of Canada fell into a coma following a head injury in a car accident. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, specialists were able to get answers to their questions from him: "Do you experience pain?", "Are you scared?" and others. They recorded the answers in the form of bursts of brain activity.

The medical phenomenon of coma, unfortunately, is not fully understood by specialists. The reason why a person falls into such a state may be various abnormalities in the body. In total, there are about 30 types of coma: alcoholic, traumatic, diabetic, etc. It is not so important which form has deprived a person of the possibility of a full life, it is much more important than it ended. The longest coma after which a person woke up is a miracle that doctors cannot explain.

Sarah Scantlin

Sarah Scatlin, a young 18-year-old college student, has been in a coma for 20 long years. The reason for this state of a girl from the American state of Kansas was a drunk driver. After the accident, Sarah fell into a coma, and lived only thanks to the devices that support the vital functions of the body.

The traumatic brain injury was so serious that the girl did not show any signs of life for the first month, and her body was functioning with the help of an artificial respiration apparatus. A month later, the only thing Sarah could do was breathe and swallow food on her own. She was in this position for 16 years. After many years of being in a coma, a specialist began to work with her, trying to return the girl to real life... And the miracle did happen. After a year of such studies, Sarah began to show her first independent reflexes. She could only communicate with others through her eye movements.

In 2005, after twenty years in a coma, the girl woke up and gradually began to remember her loved ones. She could only move with the help of a wheelchair. Not a single doctor could explain such a "awakening", according to their statements, this case is rather a happy exception to the rule than a regularity. The only thing that confused Sarah's family was that she still considered herself 18 years old. Gradually her speech and some motor reflexes returned to her.

Gary Dockery

The longest awakening coma was recorded in Tennessee. Gary Dockery was 33 years old when he was wounded in the head while trying with a partner to apprehend a bandit. The injury resulting from the injury was so severe that doctors had to remove about 20% of the brain matter. After such manipulations, the former police officer spent seven years unconscious.

And when the hope left his family, he suddenly came to his senses and even remembered the members of his family, despite the fact that his sons had become very big. He did not remember anything about the day when he was injured and his work. Unfortunately, Gary left this world a year after coming out of the coma. The cause was a blood clot in the lungs.

Martin Pistorius

The story of this young man, who had to be unconscious for 12 years, is very unusual. As a rule, people in a coma do not feel anything, while Martin, on the contrary, understood everything, he simply could not react to what was happening, being, as if, in captivity. The reason for this condition of the boy was a banal sore throat, which gave complications to his legs, and later his vision began to disappear.

Doctors suggested cryptococcal meningitis, but accurate diagnosis they could not deliver. Since the hospital could no longer help Martin, he was discharged home. Doctors assumed that the boy, who was then only 8 years old, would not live long.

But fate decreed quite differently. Thanks to the love and care of his parents, and above all, his father, after 12 years the young man came to his senses. During this time, his father took the boy to a special rehabilitation center every day, still hoping that a miracle would happen. As Martin himself later recalled, he was very annoyed by the cartoons that were shown to children in this institution, but he could not help and say about it.

After coming out of a coma, Martin Pistorius learned to write and read, went to college, where he received the profession of a programmer, and later a job in one of the state-owned companies. Today Martin has a good, caring wife and, despite the fact that he moves in a wheelchair, he lives a full life. The case of this South African teenager is, unfortunately, one of the few happy examples of coming out of a coma.

Yang Liying

In 1996, a Beijing resident fell into a coma as a result of gas poisoning. At that time he was 51 years old, and no one hoped that after 13 years of unconscious existence a man would be able to wake up. All these years there was a devoted wife next to him, thanks to whose efforts, perhaps, this miracle happened.

It was her name that Yang Liying suddenly came to his senses. After many years of coma, he has to learn to eat and talk in a new way, as well as to get acquainted with the world, which has changed a lot during his "absence".

Terry Wallace

This man from the American town of Cornell spent about 17 years in a coma. In 1984, at the age of 19, he was involved in a car accident and only miraculously survived. His friend, who was in the car at the time of the tragedy with him, died immediately, and Terry fell into a coma. None of the doctors gave comforting predictions about his condition.

In 2001, he began to show the first signs of intelligent behavior and tried to communicate with the clinic staff with gestures and facial expressions. Two years later, Terry began to speak, and what is most surprising, practically in three days he learned to walk again. The hardest thing for him was to remember his relatives (his daughter at that time was already 20 years old) and the circumstances that happened to him almost 2 decades ago.

Edward O'Bar

The record holder for the duration of unconscious existence is Eduard O'Bara, who was dubbed "Sleeping Snow White" by journalists. How long did the longest coma last, which, unfortunately, did not end as happily as the previous examples? Almost half a century - this woman spent 42 years in a coma and passed away in 2012. She fell into this state after a diabetic coma, and despite the fact that her eyes were open, she did not feel anything and did not understand what was happening around.

For many years, her mother, Kay, was with her, who for 35 years selflessly looked after her daughter. She arranged birthdays for her, washed and fed her, and also talked to her. In 2008, when her mother passed away, her sister, Colin, took over all the responsibilities of caring for the sick Eduarda. She says she was able to learn a lot from her sister, even though it was impossible to communicate with her. After 4 years, Eduarda left after her mother.

Such examples of love and fidelity towards their loved ones should make many people appreciate the time while our loved ones are healthy, and even in the most hopeless cases not to despair and not betray them.

Unlike the way it is shown in many films and TV shows, coma is a serious medical condition. Most people who fall into a coma are in it for several weeks, but there are times when a person gets stuck in such a state for many months or even years. The longer a person is in a coma, the less likely they are to get out of it. While the actual time spent in a coma may vary, the stories of many who have been through this ordeal are particularly noteworthy.

10. Sam Carter

In 2008, 60-year-old Sam Carter fell into a coma due to severe anemia. He stayed in this state for three days. He was saved by his wife, who decided to include the Rolling Stones' song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in his room. This song was very special to him, it was the first single he acquired at the age of 17.

9. Sarah Thomson


In 2012, 32-year-old Sarah Thomson fell into a coma after a blood clot entered her brain. She stayed in this state for 10 days. When she came to her senses, it seemed to Sarah that it was 1998, and she herself was 19 years old. She did not recognize her children and her husband (who appeared later in her life), and thought that she was dating another person. Fortunately, everything ended well, and after a while Sarah fell in love with her husband again.

8. Ben McMahon, Sandra Ralich and Michael Boatright


Australian Ben McMahon was in a car accident in 2012, as a result of which, he spent about a week in a coma. Not long before that, he was studying Chinese and French, although he could not yet speak them fluently. To the surprise of those around him, when he regained consciousness, Ben spoke up in Chinese. It was the only language in which he could communicate. A few years later, English returned to him. Ben now lives in Shanghai, where he spends a lot of time on local TV shows. Oddly enough, Ben is not the only one with whom this happened. 13-year-old Sandra Ralic from Croatia was studying German when fate sent her into a coma for 24 hours. Returning to life, the girl understood and spoke only German. Michael Boatwright was the third person to experience this effect. Coming out of his coma, he began to speak Swedish and claimed that his name was actually Johan Ek. He lived in Sweden a few years ago, but then returned to California for good.

7. Fred Hersh


Fred Hersh is a well-known and respected pianist who moved to New York in 1977 at the age of 21. In the 90s, he was diagnosed with AIDS, and in 2008 he fell into a coma due to mass refusal, where he stayed for two months. After coming out of a coma, he spent 10 months in bed, and then began to work on himself and even play the piano. By 2010, he was back on stage, and based on eight dreams he had while in a coma, he even wrote his own 90-minute concert called "My Coma Dreams".

6. Jarrett Carland


On August 16, 2009, 17-year-old Jarrett Carland was in a car accident, resulting in a coma. The doctors' predictions were the most sad, but his parents did not give up and even ordered a course of music therapy for their son. But the therapy was not quite ordinary, instead of the quiet and calm music that is usually played in such situations, Jarett's parents insisted that he play songs by Charlie Daniels, a country legend. After 4 months in a coma, Jarett began to react to music and eventually came out of the coma.

5. Jan Grzebski


In 1988, while working on the railway, Jan Grzebski suffered a serious head injury. He spent 19 years in a coma under the vigilant attention and care of his wife. In the end, he came to his senses, and what was his shock when he learned that there is no longer communism in Poland, and he himself already has 11 grandchildren!

4. Gary Dockery


On September 17, 1988, Gary Dockery was 33 years old when he and another police officer from Walden, Tennessee, went to the call. On that ill-fated day, Gary was shot in the head. To save Gary, doctors had to remove 20% of his brain. After the operation, Gary was in a coma for seven years. He came to his senses when members of his family, standing in his room, decided what to do with him next: to continue caring for him or to let him die.

3. Sarah Scantlin


In 1984, Sarah Scantlin was a popular and attractive college freshman. On September 21, she was hit by a car, Sarah was thrown aside, her skull was smashed, then another car ran over her. She was still alive when she was taken to the hospital with extensive head injuries. Sarah was in a coma for about a month. In April 1985, she was transferred to a care center for the disabled. All she could do was feed through the tube and blink. She spent 16 years in this state, after which one of the center's employees decided to help her learn to communicate. Four years of daily studies were not in vain, on January 12, 2005, Sarah was able to speak her first word since the disaster.

2. Terry Wallis


In July 1984, 19-year-old Terry Wallis got into, as a result of which he ended up in a coma. His wife took care of him for 19 years. On June 11, 2003, Terry tried to speak for the first time since that moment. Gradually he came to his senses, but he was sure that very little time had passed, and Ronald Reagan is now in power in the United States. Doctors still do not know why he came out of the coma. This is another ode to the incomprehensible mysteries of human nature.

1. Hayley Putre


From the age of 4, Hayley lived in her aunt's house because her mother was deprived of parental rights. In 2005, when she was 11 years old, Hayley was admitted to the hospital with multiple head injuries after being beaten by her adoptive parents. The injuries were too severe, and the girl fell into a coma. She remained in this state until 2008, when the local authorities decided to disconnect her from the life support apparatus. On the same day, Hayley regained consciousness.