brain swelling due to Japanese encephalitis

[anujjaju]

Hello team,
I need your advise very badly. i am from India.
My friend had brain edema due to japanese encephalitis around in June, 2013. Right then she went unconscious and remain unconscious for several days but after good medical supervision she opened eyes after around 20 days. Since then she is making improvement slowly slowly. As of now she can open eyes, she can recognize people, she can move body but unable to stand up, she speaks out few words clearly but most other unclear, she remembers everything. She is still not able to take food by her mouth so only fluid is being given by ng tube. But now she can take few spoons of fluid from mouth as well.
Kindly tell me is her improvement good. Will she be fine soon. Is curing from this type of edema is slow process or only she is making a slow progress.
Dear doctor i can't take an appointment with you due to this distance boundation but i am sure you will definitely take time to answer me because since she is unhealthy i lose around 10 kg. Weight, i never faced depression ever before in my life but now i am facing.
Please help me to understand her illness in a better way. And yes her ct scan and spect scan are good.
I shall always be in your debt

[skydnsr]

Sorry, but I'm not going to be able to give you that information, because I don't have it.  I'm not a doctor, and Japanese encephalitis is not common in the US, where I live.  More to the point, each case of encephalitis is individual.  Your friend's own doctor would be able to give the best estimate, but even the treating physician can end up being surprised by how well or poorly someone recovers from a brain insult.  Oftentimes in these situations, one can do no more than to just "wait and see."  It would be best for you simply to prepare yourself for any outcome.  Since you have no control over the situation, you'll need to mindfully take steps to ease your own tenseness.  I know that is easier to say than to do.  I'm sorry for your friend's illness and for your distress.  Please take good care.

[anujjaju]

Yes she is getting better, But still i am very tensed. If you can collect some information about how long it actually takes to cure, it would be really helpful for me.

[skydnsr]

Maybe you can do something to help the family as a whole.  By that, I mean perhaps you could approach one of her parents, without asking to see her, and offer something that would help them.  You would still be doing something to help your friend, and you would feel useful.  I'm glad to hear that your friend is better and out of the hospital.

[anujjaju]

Thanks skydnsr for your answer,
She's recovering quite well. And she wasn't in full coma for 20 days. But she was semi conscious. But now she's conscious to a good level. She asks family when she need to go to toilet or when she feels pain or something. She's is able to speak now but not very clear, and we don't have much medical facilities for caring after this medical conditions. But she has been discharged from hospital as her condition is much stable.
I am helpless as in india families do not allow outer person to be familier with their girls. It's the culture which i believe is very bad but people believe is good.
So that I'm even more tensed.

[skydnsr]

Also, please take care of yourself, anujjaju.  You can only help your friend to the degree that you are well.  Eat, sleep, and calm yourself on a daily basis.  Your friend's illness could turn out to be a very long term situation, so it is truly necessary for you to attend to your own well-being.  Otherwise, you run the risk of "burning out," and I know you don't want that to happen.  We will be thinking about you, as well as your friend.

[skydnsr]

Anytime someone is in a coma for 20 days, the situation is serious, and the degree of recovery is uncertain.  You ask if your friend's improvement is good, and the answer is yes.  Just living through something like this is good, and the fact that she is continuing to improve is excellent.  You ask if she will be fine soon, and that seems less certain.  She might eventually be fine, but it will take time.  An illness like this is a huge setback.  She will need a lot of supportive care.  I'm not familiar with the medical system in India, but here in the USA, she would probably be given therapies like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.  She and her loved ones will need to take her progress day by day.  It is appropriate to hope for the best, because that is still a possibility.  But she has had a huge insult to her brain and her general health.  She is fortunate to have someone who cares for her as much as you obviously do.  Please keep us posted.

PS, I'm not a doctor.  This is a "community" forum, which is mostly answered by lay people.  We do have a physician who posts on this forum sometimes, and I hope she will see this thread and provide you with her input as well.  In the meantime, best wishes.