|
|
|
Hypothermic Success
April 22, 2008 |
It was the warm weather that drew Nora Edgely to Southwest Florida. But after a
heart attack put Nora into a life-threatening coma it would be cold temperatures
that would save her life. Her daughter Jacqueline Brahm says, “The doctors would
talk to me about odds for normal life and that if she’d come around there would
not be much hope of mental capacity.” Dr. Kenneth Tolep is a Pulmonary
Specialist with Lee Memorial Health System. He says Nora was “completely
unresponsive and in fact the initial doctors who saw her thought that the
initial chances of her waking up were very slim.” But Nora’s family and
physicians had hope. They decided to try hypothermic intervention. Using packed
ice and cold saline solutions they kept Nora’s body temperature just a few
degrees above freezing. The goal was to save her brain until she woke up from
the coma then physicians would be able to save her heart. Within days she began
to show signs of the Nora they once knew. Jacqueline says, “She had the tubes in
and I kept saying to her it’s ok, it’s ok don’t try to talk I’m here. I said to
her hey mom how are you doing, she said I’m ok. I went to the nurse’s station
and I said my mom spoke she spoke to me. So they go she’s been talking all day
we told her stop talking you have tubes in your mouth.” Along with her sense of
humor, Nora’s mind and memories are intact. Her family and physicians believe
the cold was crucial to her cure. Dr. Tolep says, “It’s a great result. Not only
did she regain the use of her arms and legs but she regained her sense of
humor.” Hypothermic intervention is most often used for cardiac patients like
Nora. Physicians are currently looking for ways to expand Hypothermic
Intervention to help cure and prevent new injuries or illnesses. |
|
|
|
