»Asking for Help

On the 21st March 2001, my mother, Helena Bonito L. S. Casanova, by then 47 years old, went in good health, to Barreiro’s Public Pool (Piscina Municipal do Barreiro), where she used to swim as therapy for her cervical disarrangement. At 1p.m. began another session which would be finished at 2 p.m. When the clock marked 1.40 p.m., she was found floating, face down. She was in cardio respiratory arrest and CPR manoeuvres were initiated. The South and Southeast firemen corporation were called, arriving a few minutes later. However, they had great difficulty moving her to the ambulance – there was no emergency exit so, they tried to walk across the male dressing room with no success, and then they had to remove chairs, computer tables and other stuff to get her off through the reception area.

My mother arrived at Nossa Senhora do Rosário Hospital, in Barreiro, and the reanimation finished at 2.10 p.m., after the third electrical discharge. She has been in “coma” since then. She was connected to the ventilator because of ineffective respiratory stimuli, and consequently transferred to an intensive care unit (ICU). She remained there till April 2001, being transferred, at last, to an Internal Medicine ward, where she has been lying. She has made several diagnostic exams, namely computed tomography of the brain, which showed several injuries. She was disconnected from the ventilator and a final tracheotomy was made.

I realized, immediately, that my mother was able to hear us and could recognise our voices as well – in fact, she started to cry when I spoke to her (that same day of the accident and several other times while she was in the ICU). Besides, when I asked her to open her eyes, she made an effort to move her eyelashes and then turned her glance towards the place where the voices were coming from. Meanwhile, already in the ward, she proved us that, apart from listening and recognising our voices she was also able to understand our speech. To be more precise, I talk to her about everything during my visiting time, desperately trying to get any answer. She doesn’t do it verbally, but we can establish contact through signs and that’s the way she answers my questions. For instance, when there was still some response from her muscular tissue and articulations, she fulfilled any demand moving the exact part of her body (feet, head, fingers, shoulders – small movements, of course). Lately, it became more difficult for her to fulfil these simple tasks, however, she can still make them! Furthermore, every time she isn’t able to do it, the sadness on her face make us realize her despair.

She has sensibility all over her body. She has tinkles, she gets frightened easily when she hears sudden or loud noises, cries when she recognises some relatives’ or friends’ voices, she sighs according to the conversation or when the situation implies it too (frequently meaning “oh, well...”) and as soon as I get into the room and start talking to her, she begins to smile.

Moreover, she shows us some hidden strength as she becomes very tense: leans her chest forward, moves her arms upon her abdomen (sometimes upon her chest), and moves her head to both sides.

It hasn’t been easy… We struggle a daily battle always with hope and faith. Each smile or sign of good will from my mother makes us feel even prouder. Once we don’t have any kind of psychological support, that’s how “we refill our batteries”.

Ever since the beginning, doctors have told us that “there is nothing we can do”. We don’t agree. She “cries silently” for our help and we are sure that much more can be done. That’s why we appeal for all the health experts in this area (here in Portugal or anywhere else in the world) and for everybody who has been or went through a similar experience to help us improve my mother’s quality of life.

Though it may seem quite commonplace, it is indeed true that “Hope dies last”. As long as my mother lives, we will do everything to make her happy and healthy.

Please, help us do our best to help her. It’s despairing to see our life coming apart in a minute, to be bound hand and foot, without any friendly voice to calm us down and say ”there is a solution”.

Thanks,

Mara Casanova
e-mail: mara.casanova@publinetportugal.com