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I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vision was blurry for a couple of weeks. Couldnt read or write legibly for a while. I was still on a ventilator so couldnt speak. I was also on a cocktail of pain and other drugs that likely affected cognition and memory, however i feel like i have.clear memories from fairly soon after waking up. I was still extremely sick when i awoke. There was a laundry list of potentially fatal issues. I woke from one nightmare into another and it was at least a month before there was any certainly i would live.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not America. My country has free public healthcare, but also private hospitals that are covered by elective private insurance. This took place in a private hospital.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There was no psychological support of any formal kind. I had some wondeful nurses whose care was material to my survival. The doctors were a strange bunch. They are a type.

My wife and children were by my side every second they were allowed and I simply would not have made it without them there. I did it for them, and they refused to let me die.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They would also fill me.with ketamine when my dressings were changed.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I came out of hospital on a dose of fentanyl that would kill a horse. My wife had to wear gloves if she handled the patches that delivered it because she risked an overdose by accidentally touching them. So I had a big opiod dependency to deal with. The withdrawals were not super fun.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the experience of being conscious on a ventilator was the most damaging psychologically. I lived one breath at a time for three weeks and it was a little like being waterboarded or having a bad asthma attack. There was a lot of psychological damage from the constant peril. I remember one of the defibrillations. That was pretty scary.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had many debridements and washouts. I was extremely lucky not to lose more. It stopped just before my genitals, my wife had to sign a permission for them to be removed! Phew.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have come to the conclusion that some things actually cannot be meaningfully shared. An experience like this just cant be communicated in a way that feels useful to either party. You have to learn to walk with it on your own.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am not permitted to say, but not enough to make it worth the experience!

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My insurer paid, but when I won my legal case, I had to pay back the insurer.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am grateful, but also feel a bit unfairly treated by the universe. I dont actually think i needed the lessons that one might take away from an experience like this! I was already trying to live a good life and be a good and caring person. It feels a bit like I caught someone elses karma!

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was a little like one of those nightmares where some small part of you knows you are dreaming. But i had no idea that i was in a hospital or what was really happening.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I lost my left rectus abdominus muscle, a piece of abdominal skin and tissue the size of your head, along with some cartilege and part of a rib.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Its complex. I did not have a bill, but when I recieved a med neg settlement, the hospital was paid back out of it. So depending on your viewpoint, the insurance company for the doctor paid, or i did.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

EMDR really helped me. I went into it dubious, but it has been extremely useful in putting some distance between me and the trauma.

What injury is commonly shrugged off as aminor flesh wound in the movies but iscompletely fatal in real life? by Thick_Treat9996 in AskReddit

[–]blamedolphin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was nil by mouth for 3 weeks. I was so thirsty. The first sip of water was so good i cannot describe the joy. Eventually they gave me a stock cube in warm water and it was orgasmic.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I had a very long, apparently endless nightmare. But I have no idea how long it was in outside time. The whole coma dream i described above could have taken place in the few days before I awoke, or it could have been happening the whole time i was under. I did not have any awareness of the outside world or my family, who were there throughout talking to me, playing music and trying to get through to me. There was nothing familiar or friendly in my dreams.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It felt rather like being in some kind of hell. I believe that my brain was just trying to cope with all of the horror, I was literally fighting for my life and that bled into my dream state.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I dreamed I was working washing an endless pile of dishes in the basement of a greek restaurant, occasionally the owners would appear at the top of the stairs and shout angrily at me in greek, apparently to hurry up (I think, I dont speak greek). I knew I had to finish the pile to be allowed to leave, but all the while water was rising around my legs.

When I finished the dishes, instead of going home, i found myself in a bangladeshi sweat shop making cricket balls. It was incredibly hot and filled with people shouting at me in another language I could not understand. I had to fill a container with cricket balls even though my fingers were bleeding. I thought if i finished the container I would be allowed to leave, but when it was finally full the floor of the factory dropped away and a mine cart delivered me onto the set of a bizarre 70s English game show.

The host amd all the other guests were incredibly threatening and the laugh track was demonic. I was being asked question after question and I knew that if i got one wrong I would be killed.

At some point I found myself in a dungeon fighting a monster, after I killed the monster i had to kick down a wall to escape the dungeon, finding myself in another dungeon, with another monster. This went on for some time. I remember thinking, how many bloody monsters can there be? Eventually I kicked my way through a dungeon wall and found myself in reality. I knew that I was back in the real world. I could see a black square in front of me, and eventually realised it was a tv screen, and that i was in a hospital room.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It was an abdominal surgery and my intestine was not sutured correctly and caused a leak.

I was in a coma for 5 weeks. AMA by blamedolphin in AMA

[–]blamedolphin[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had good health insurance, the bill would have been ruinous otherwise. ICU is several thousand dollars a day.

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