Kauvery Kathaigal: 1
Act in haste, reflect in leisure
Patient: A young, handsome, trim and well- educated person who is articulate. He was well- employed.
Presenting Event: The act of self-harm landed him at one of our hospitals where he soon had a cardiac arrest.
Patient's Story
He is the most unlikely person one would associate with a hasty, emotional decision—to resort to serious self- harm! But he did. He ruefully shared with me that he made some bad decisions in life. This turned out to be the culmination of them. But fate and providence had something else in mind for him.
A hospital is perhaps the safest place in the world to have a cardiac arrest; he was revived by the team. But the brain is very sensitive to hypoxia. More than three minutes of hypoxia leaves an impact that can impair many functions of the brain, temporarily or permanently. His “motor” functions suffered in the process. His mobility, coordination and muscle-power have suffered. He has difficulty in holding things. His legs tremble. He needs assistance to stand and walk. He is literally ” finding his hands and feet”.
Outcome
He is under the care of a very able, experienced, patient and supportive rehabilitation team. Through intensive physiotherapy and neurological retraining, he is taking’ baby steps towards independence. Somewhere along the way, he has found his will, courage and determination to walk out one day on his own legs, waving his hands, bidding “Goodbye” to us.
Conclusion
I reassured him, advising that his youth would be in his favor. The “neuroplasticity” of the brain shall help to wake his dorment brain cells and get them to work for him.
Recovery from a neurological setback is a marathon, not a sprint.
