Brain Injury Coma? What Do You Do When a Loved One is in a Coma

Brain Injury Coma Help for Families

By Gordon S. Johnson, Jr., Esq.

Call me at 800-992-9447

The phone rings, and your life changes because someone you love is in a coma. We are here for coma help.

Something that was only a vaguely scary shadow – “brain injury coma” – is now a deep black hole, which will encompass you for months, if not your whole life.

I have written much on the web in my advocacy for the survivors of brain injury coma, going back more than 15 years to the pages https://tbilaw.com and http://waiting.com While my motivation for advocacy hasn’t changed much over that time period, the years of listening to the TBI community have given me more to say.  The themes haven’t changed much, but I have so much more experience to share.

As I begin this to help those dealing with brain injury coma, the challenge is to narrow the lessons to a few important topics, as each case, each story is unique.  But I know that if you have a loved one in a brain injury coma, you are hungry for information in a hurry, so I have chosen to focus on the biggest themes, and then to give you links to expand those lessons, if you are driven to learn more.

My major themes for this undertaking are:

  • The Mother’s coma vigil;
  • Seeing past the facade of recovery to comprehend the needs of the recovered survivor; and
  • The role that work after Severe Brain Injury can play in a lifetime of recovery.

Being a Mother to Someone in a Brain Injury Coma

While Dads and Husbands wait too, more is typically demanded of women, either as Mom’s or Wives.  Women are expected to be the nurturers, the caregivers, the guide in learning how to behave.  All of these roles will be demanded of you, over and over.  How well you deal with these extraordinary needs, will dictate not only impact the quality of recovery for the survivor of severe head injury, but will define the quality of life for the balance of you and your family.

To help understand what is ahead, I want to focus on the stories of three Moms, from stories we have been telling on our  TBI Voices Blog – https://tbilaw.com/tbivoices  The Moms are from the stories of Chris, Nancy and Rita.  All three Moms waited for emergence; all three awoke.  Each of their challenges were unique, yet all have common themes.

Chris was a 15 years old pedestrian when a drunken driver ran her over. For the Chris story, click here.  Nancy was nine when both she and her father were in a head on motor vehicle collision.  For Nancy’s story, click here.  Rita was in her early thirties, a successful and independent woman, when she was run over by a hit and run motorist.   For Rita’s story, click here: https://tbilaw.com/tbivoices/rita-pedestrian-suffers-catastrophic-brain-injury/

The three recoveries span the spectrum from remarkably good, to bleak.  Yet, the experience of each mom in the first days and months have many common themes to help those of you whose waiting is just beginning.

Next –  Fighting and Believing in Brain Injury Coma Emergence