Mother in a coma opened her eyes after medics turn off her ventilator

Mother, 42, left in a coma after a massive stroke stuns medics by opening her eyes and taking a deep breath when they turn her ventilator OFF

• Kate Green, 42, suffered a debilitating pontine stroke at her home in Rotherham 
• She was rushed to her local hospital where doctors put her in an induced coma
• After 9 days they took her off the ventilator to see if she could breath on her own 
• She gasped for breath and opened her eyes to the surprise of the medics 

A mother in a coma stunned medics when her eyes shot open and she gasped for breath as medics went to turn off her ventilator. 

Kate Green, 42, was left in a coma after a massive stroke in December paralysed her and robbed her of the ability to breathe on her own.

When she showed no signs of recovery after eight days, medics warned her husband Adam, 44, and seven-year-old son they could be about to lose her.

But as the machine was switched off Kate astounded everyone by taking a deep breath and opening her eyes. 

Shocked doctors told Mr Green: ‘We loved being proved wrong – this is remarkable.’ 

It was the start of a path to recovery that no one thought possible after she suffered a devastating pontine stroke.   

Kate Green, 42, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was left in a coma after a massive stroke but stunned medics by gasping for breath and opening her eyes when they turned off her life-support machine

Mrs Green started frothing at the mouth in front of her seven-year-old son Stanley (pictured together, left) at her home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, at the start of December. After complaining of a headache, she quickly deteriorated and was left unable to move, prompting her husband Adam (right) to call his GP, who told him to get her to A&E. 

The family’s nightmare began on December 2 when Mrs Green and son Stanley returned from a trip to the swimming pool and she complained of an unusual headache. 

She went upstairs and within minutes she was curled up on her bed in the foetal position, complaining to her husband she couldn’t move.

Civil servant Mr Green said: ‘Kate was murmuring and frothing at the mouth, that’s when Stanley got on the bed and said ‘mummy, mummy I love you mummy’.’

When her condition rapidly deteriorated and she began frothing from the mouth, her husband called an ambulance.  

Paramedics came to the house and started work on her before rushing Mrs Green to Rotherham General Hospital while neighbours looked after Stanley. 

The family were told Kate had suffered a massive brain bleed and they could not operate on her as the risks outweighed the potential benefits. She was not expected to survive until Christmas.

What is a pontine stroke? 

A pontine cerebrovascular accident is a type of stroke that that occurs on the pons region of the brain stem.

The rare strokes can be deadly or leave victims in paralysis or with locked-in syndrome — in which people are only able to move their eyes.

It can result in extensive loss of motor function and other deficits. 

A patient’s exact symptoms will vary depending on the severity of the pontine stroke, as well as its specific location. 

This is because cranial nerves serve different functions in different areas of the brain stem and within the pons itself. 

For example, a stroke on the back of the pons may lead to ataxia, a condition characterized by the loss of muscle coordination. 

Other common pontine stroke symptoms include double vision, vertigo, and dizziness. 

After a pontine stroke, some patients also experience difficulty swallowing, speech deficits, numbness, and even paralysis of one side of the body or both.

Source: Saebo 

Eight days later after no signs of recovery, the medics asked Mr Green to call her family, telling him she would probably be unable to breath on her own when they switched off her life support the following day.

Mr Green said: ‘They didn’t expect the outlook to be a good one, given the massive bleed that she encountered, and it’s quite rare that people do survive from such a thing.’

They told him if she had to be put back on the ventilator, they would probably have to discuss whether to continue keeping her alive.

But to everyone’s surprise, she gasped for life and opened her eyes. 

From that he ventilator was only needed to supply about 25 per cent of her oxygen, with Kate breathing for herself at three quarters her normal capacity.

Mr Green said: ‘Even at that point, there was no indication as to what quality of life she might have.

‘The worst case scenario when she was admitted was that she would die, but then it kind of shifted slightly to she might be in a vegetative state and be in a nursing home all her life.’

Mrs Green was still unable to move but she began to show signs of understanding her surroundings and knew her family.

She started by looking up to acknowledge ‘yes’ and down for ‘no’. She then began spelling out words on an alphabet board by pointing out letters.

Mr Green was thrilled when she was able to spell out his name, Stanley’s name and the word ‘love.’

Mrs Green then began to move the left side of her body, starting with her left thumb, her limbs and toes.

She has not regained control of the right side of her body to the same extent, but signs of recovery are beginning to show there too.

She is still on the stroke ward but is speaking again and able to spend time with Mr Green and Stanley.

The next step will be to move her into a private rehab facility using the cash already raised by Mr Green’s online appeal. 

She was put in an induced coma and doctors told him she may not be able to breath on her own when they switched off her ventilator 11 days later to assess her recovery. But to the delight of her family the public health specialist regained consciousness, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes just seconds later.

It is thought Mr Green’s fitness may have played a part in her amazing recovery. She is a keen runner who set up a park run in her home town

Mr Green said: ‘It’s been horrific and incredibly stressful. The first few weeks were just awful – lots of tears and just disbelief. But when she started flickering her fingers, it was like a miracle.

‘People don’t tend to survive it, so the fact that she’s come out of this whole situation is remarkable.’

It is thought Mrs Green’s fitness may have played a part in her amazing recovery. She is a keen runner who set up a park run in her home town.

She now faces a long fight back to health as her mobility slowly returns and Adam has now raised more than £33,000  target to pay for intensive rehabilitation. 

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