What happens after coma and vegetative state?
When people start to regain consciousness, they may: • follow simple instructions from others such as, “Open your eyes,” “Squeeze my hand,” “Say your name,” etc.; • communicate by speaking words or by indicating yes or no by head nods or gestures; and/or • use a common object in a normal way such as brushing hair with a brush, using a straw to drink, holding a phone to the ear, etc. Persons with brain injury transition through the period of unconsciousness and subsequent stages of recovery at a slower or faster rate, largely depending on the severity of injury. Those with less severe injuries may transition through these stages more rapidly and some of the stages described here may be poorly recognized or not occur at all. Those with very severe injuries may stall at one or another stage and not be able to make the transition to a higher level of recovery. For persons with more prolonged periods of unconsciousness, emergence from unconsciousness is a gradual process. Coma rarely lasts