Recovery after a coma

angeliz2k

never mind the shorty
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
3,727
Reaction score
488
Location
Commonwealth of Virginia--it's for lovers
Website
www.elizabethhuhn.com
This is more an logistical question than a medical one. The character in question was in a coma for nearly two months and has woken up and is recovering. She's recovering very swiftly because she's slightly *more* than your average person. In any case, I have her waking up in the hospital and staying there over the next few months, relearning language and how to walk and function. She's also suffering from insomnia and sleep-walking. Is it feasible that she would stay in the same facility, the hospital, while this happens, rather than sent to a specific rehabilitation center? It's important that the nurse who is there when she wakes up remains with her as she recovers. Thoughts? (This is in the US.)
 

cornflake

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
16,171
Reaction score
3,734
Not feasible ime -- she'd be sent to a rehab/nursing facility as soon as she was medically stable.

If she was in a coma for a while and stable, she might be in a nursing facility anyway, not a hospital.
 

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
3,539
Reaction score
429
Location
Floral City, FL
What's described is not recovery from a coma. It's recovery from whatever trauma caused the coma. Frankly, you're either in a coma or you're not. You don't need rehab for the coma itself.

Some hospitals also run their own rehab center. It's a different part of the hospital with different functions. Hospitalization ends when you no longer need the medical services. Rehab has likely begun even while in a coma, top keep blood flow, muscle strength, mobility, etc.

Jeff
 

angeliz2k

never mind the shorty
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
3,727
Reaction score
488
Location
Commonwealth of Virginia--it's for lovers
Website
www.elizabethhuhn.com
Okay, thank you both. I think this could work by simply having her moved to a rehab facility as soon as she's stable (while still in the coma), which is where she and the male main character meet as he cares for her (after she wakes). And yes, WeaselFire, obviously she's recovering from what caused the coma--brain damage. As mentioned, she's more than average, so she recovers fairly quickly.