Crisis Center
Emerging from Coma: What to Expect
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Waking up from a coma is a slow process known as emerging. The first stage is when the eyes open and the injured person has wake/sleep cycles, the sleep cycles being the longest. As the wake cycles get longer and longer, movement begins to occur, first the arms and legs, then the head from side to side. Next follows speech, beginning with moaning that advances to mumbling. Usually, before puroseful speech comes purposeful movement, such as reaching for things.
However, no two brain injuries are alike.
And no two patients are the same. Some people display movement and sounds throughout the comatose period, some need to be restrained to prevent injury to themselves or others. Coma rarely resembles what Hollywood portrays—where, one day, the patient opens his eyes, smiles, and is discharged from the hospital the next day. Recovery from brain injury takes time. While a patient is in a coma, they may exhibit behaviors which mimic conscious behaviors. For instance, they may turn their head toward a sound. This may or may not be a purposeful movement. The difficult fact is that we don't know how far recovery will take our loved one, nor what his or her recovery will look like.