“Still in shock”: a Russian lying in a coma during the spread of COVID-19 told how he woke up “in another world”

- You went to the hospital on March 6th. Correctly?

Sergey: Yes.

Elena: That's right.

- On March 6, as far as I remember, there were only isolated cases in Russia. That is, in principle, you heard about the coronavirus, but the number of detected cases in Russia was small.

Sergey: Yes, during the period when I went to bed, of course, we heard about this disease. But while still at the level of the government, the president there were no decrees, then there were still isolated cases. Yes, accordingly, there was a prerequisite for quarantine.

- As I understand it, you learned about the restrictions in the country, having already left, two months later, from an unconscious state.

Sergey: Being transferred to the ward from the intensive care unit, I heard on TV that there is such a disease, coronavirus, there are certain limitations. That they use these masks, gloves. For me it was all wild.

Elena: On the one hand, Sergey did not see all this information horror that was happening. And there is some plus in that he escaped this. Because it leaves a mark on the psyche of people, on all of us, on our nervous state. And on the other hand, getting this piece of news here at once, at once - is also a test.

• Elena talks about how the recovery of Sergei’s spouse after leaving a coma

- What was your first reaction when you came to your senses, began to find out what was going on in the world?

Sergey: My wife connected to me, she was able to bring information from the street, brought information about how in our family. Of course, to some extent I am still in shock.

Elena: You know, when I said that we are walking on schedule, we can go to the store and to the pharmacy, I saw how our eyes open wider, wider ... He says: it can’t be, it's some kind of joke, you’ll think up where You’re kidding me a little bit.

It seems to me that perception will occur directly when it is necessary to wear gloves and a mask before leaving the house. And feel for yourself what it all is.

Probably, Sergei, like no one, now understands people who are being treated for coronavirus. Because he spent five weeks on a ventilator.

“I wanted to ask you this.” Because now many people are so afraid of the very concept of mechanical ventilation, for them it already sounds like a sentence.

Elena: Actually, this device is indeed a very scary thing, because the people who are on it are already a little on the verge, they are hanging a little. This problem with the lungs is not necessary, since he was on the ventilator, such a thing as hospital pneumonia went. This coronavirus is community-acquired pneumonia. Therefore, it was such a long time in intensive care. Since it was necessary to fight not only with the consequences of edema and hemorrhage, but also with the disease itself. There was a temperature of 40 degrees for several days, such peaks. It was scary, frankly. And someone said that, in general, the chances are not very high.

Sergey: Thank you very much to the doctors, thank you very much to the doctors. They do not abandon us and say that they will help with rehabilitation. Thanks to the Presidential Administration for creating such conditions for us. And we try, say, to meet these conditions, to heal, to get out of this state.

Elena: The doctor said: leave me on your feet only.

“Let's hope a happy ending”

Andrei Reutov, a neurosurgeon at the Central Clinical Hospital, was treating Sergei’s doctor in an interview with RT about working with a patient who recovered after almost two months of coma.

- Tell us, please, about a patient who has been in a coma for two months and has now entered a new world.

- I’ll emphasize right away that I would not call it any unique, from the point of view of surgery, case. Probably the very story of our patient, it is notable for the fact that he woke up in a completely different world.

• Neurosurgeon of the Central Clinical Hospital Andrei Reutov - about a patient who left a coma

He was hospitalized by quota for a complex neurosurgical operation in connection with a revealed brain tumor. The tumor is large. The patient underwent surgery aimed at removal. After the operation, the patient woke up, was transferred back to the department to us, and began to actively engage in exercise therapy and rehabilitation. We were preparing for discharge. But, unfortunately, a complication occurred, increasing diffuse cerebral edema. All this led to the oppression of consciousness, to a coma. All this required the transfer of the patient to the neuroresuscitation department, where he spent about two months while in a coma. And this is not an artificial coma, not a medical dream, but it was a real coma, which is associated with depression of consciousness against the background of cerebral edema.

It is worth noting that the treatment of this patient was carried out by neuroresuscitators, radiologists, rehabilitologists, even nutritionists. As a result, we were able to achieve that, after such a long time, the patient woke up. The exit stage - it was quite fast and a few days later he had questions for us. We did not know how to respond, we tried to systematically bring to everything. Because the patient was surprised why the hospital was quarantined, why relatives were not allowed. I explained that everyone now wears masks and gloves, respecting social distance. Fortunately, just a few days ago his wife arrived to help us.

“And how did you tell him what was going on?”

- I tried somehow not to bring down an avalanche of information. Because, nevertheless, the patient has already experienced a lot. Fortunately, since the spouse passed all the necessary tests for coronavirus, we were able to restore the union as quickly as possible, which, in turn, helped in further rehabilitation in terms of the patient’s psychoemotional state. And now, let's hope a happy ending.