Freaking Out.

This is SOOO horrific I'm not sure what to do with it. The daughter (I) of a friend of mine (M) just dropped dead in a parking lot at 16 years old. No drugs, no health history, just ran out of the sandwich shop where she was working to catch a guy who'd left his gameboy and didn't come back in. When they went looking for her she had no pulse or respiration. Her hands were blue but her face was still normal color. The paramedics got her heart started just as they got to the hospital, but she's been unresponsive since. Truth be told, I don't even know if she's alive today.

The whole thing is like some sort of nightmare I can't wake up from. I cannot even imagine what M and her husband are going through. They already lost one child to a congenital heart condition (not genetically based) so it's just frigging WRONG that they might lose another child when she was completely healthy as far as anyone knew.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

UPDATE: I spoke with M this morning and learned that I has been been moving around and making some vocalizations since this happened; more and more as time goes on. She's opened her eyes a few times, mostly when she coughs, but is clearly not seeing anything. M says she seems to respond to friends and to music the most. Her movements are strange and not like what the medical staff has seen before, but M has been told that there is no reason I cannot recover. That said; there is no guarantee that she will, either.

M says the more people who visit, the better as far as she's concerned, since I seems to respond to people she knows. She's had a veritable parade through all week and people have been coming forward to watch her at night so M can sleep. M is unwilling to leave I's side in the event she wakes up and is frightened and confused.

I'm going to go over in a little while and pay a visit.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

UPDATE #2:
Went to see her yesterday and found an amazing number of people there. She appears to be coming 'out' of her coma a little more each day. Not all of her movements are involuntary now, and when I was there she opened her eyes at a time when I was very animatedly telling a bird story. She definitely tracked my voice and movements. They said she'd done that before, but this was the most focused and the longest yet. She acts frustrated, periodically kicking her feet or pushing someone away with one hand. Non symmetric movements like that the medical staff says are definitely voluntary. She has quite a devoted following of boys, though she has no boyfriend. One young man has been by her side the entire time and by now looks as if he must be a trained nurse! Another boy just heard yesterday and insisted on spending the night last night, just holding her hand. But she has made herself loved in all walks of life it seems, because there was a steady stream of adults coming to see her as well, many of whom her parents didn't know. her dad is good about meeting each new visitor in the hallway outside ICU and preparing them for what they will see. I can see how it would be very disturbing to someone unfamiliar with how 'active' a coma state can be.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

One more UPDATE:
Well the news is grim. The CT scan done when I first came in didn't show anything, but just yesterday she finally stabilized enough to do an MRI. It showed that she had suffered massive strokes on both sides of her brain due to anoxia. Based on the statistics available, which are pretty much entirely about adults, she has almost no chance of recovery. However I is NOT an adult and the local neurologist, as well as a consulting neurologist both suggest that some change my come with time as her brain attempts to heal itself. her parents want to take her home once she is prepped for long term care. M is already talking about looking outside the United States to see what is being done with stem cell research that might apply here. The consulting neurologist said she would help them with that.

I won't post more here unless something significant happens, but I really appreciate the support this week. Thank you!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Update #4: (8/8/8)
They moved her down south to a place near where her half brother lives yesterday. M went with her and her father is staying here to remodel the house (he's a carpenter) in anticipation of having her there in the long run. No change medically.