UAE woman Munira Abdulla wakes up after 27 years in a coma
Prolonged disorders of consciousness are usually caused by a sudden brain injury
A woman from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who was seriously injured in a traffic accident in 1991 has made a seemingly miraculous recovery after emerging from a 27-year-long coma.
Munira Abdulla, who was aged 32 at the time of the accident, suffered a severe brain injury after the car she was travelling in collided with a bus on the way to pick up her son from school.
Omar Webair, who was then just four years old, was sitting in the back of the vehicle with her, but was left unscathed as his mother cradled him in her arms moments before the accident.
Ms Abdulla - who was being driven by her brother-in-law - was left seriously injured, but last year regained consciousness in a German hospital.
Omar has opened up about the accident and about his mother's progress following years of treatment in an interview with the UAE-based newspaper The National.
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'She hugged me to protect me'
"I never gave up on her because I always had a feeling that one day she would wake up," Omar told the newspaper on Monday.
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"The reason I shared her story is to tell people not to lose hope on their loved ones; don't consider them dead when they are in such a state," he added.
"My mother was sitting with me in the back seat. When she saw the crash coming, she hugged me to protect me from the blow."
He was unharmed, suffering just a bruise to the head, but his mother was left untreated for hours.
Years of treatment
Ms Abdulla was eventually taken to hospital, and later transferred to London. There, she was declared to be in a vegetative state - unresponsive, but able to sense pain - The National reports.
She was then returned to Al Ain, a city in the UAE on the border with Oman where she lived, and moved to various medical facilities according to insurance requirements.
She remained there for a few years, fed through a tube and kept alive. She underwent physiotherapy to ensure her muscles would not weaken through lack of movement.
In 2017, the family was offered a grant by the Crown Prince Court, a government body in Abu Dhabi, for Ms Abdulla to be transferred to Germany.
There, she underwent a number of surgeries to correct her severely shortened arm and leg muscles, and she was given medication to improve her state, including her wakefulness.
Hospital row
A year later, her son was involved in an argument in her hospital room, which seemed to prompt his mother to stir.
"There was a misunderstanding in the hospital room and she sensed I was at risk, which caused her a shock," Omar said.
"She was making strange sounds and I kept calling the doctors to examine her, they said everything was normal.
"Then, three days later, I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name.
"It was her! She was calling my name, I was flying with joy; for years I have dreamt of this moment, and my name was the first word she said."
She became more responsive, and can now feel pain and have some conversations.
She has returned to Abu Dhabi, where she is undergoing physiotherapy and further rehabilitation - mainly to improve her posture when sitting and prevent muscles from contracting.
Cases like Abdulla's are rare
There are only a few cases of people recovering consciousness after several years - and even then, recovery can be protracted.
It is impossible to predict the chances of someone in a state of impaired consciousness improving, says the UK's National Health Service.
People who do regain consciousness often have severe disabilities caused by damage to their brain.
One notable recovery case is that of Terry Wallis, an American man who was involved in a car accident when he was 19, and made a dramatic recovery after spending 19 years in a near-vegetative state. It was thought he had been able to re-grow brain tissue.
Former Formula 1 racing world champion Michael Schumacher suffered a head injury in a skiing accident in France in 2013. He was placed in a medically induced coma for six months before being transferred to his home in Switzerland to continue his treatment.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67631 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:13 pm Post subject:
If she has grandchildren she's gonna have days filled with love and catching up. After 27 years she may be a great grandmother. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52654 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:38 pm Post subject:
ringfinger wrote:
Imagine waking up to Donald Trump being President. LOL.
It actually probably wouldn't mean much to her. Prior to "The Apprentice" he wasn't widely known and he sure wasn't known the way he is now. _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Yikes, waking up after 27 years would be like being on another planet. Explaing to her that there is no longer VHS, what the internet is, what a text message is, What email is, What a smartphone is, self driving cars. caller id, tablet, dna profiling, social media, Aussiesuede, Google, wifi,Youtube, Uber, Survivor. The list just goes on and on. She's missed so much... _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
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