In the neurosurgery ward of Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, a father and son attracted attention.

The father sat by the bed, doting on his son An An (pseudonym)'s head and talking to him about today's news. An An, lying on his side in the hospital bed, chuckled and was a very warm scene in an ordinary family. For them, it was a "reunion after a disaster".

An Accident: An 11-year-old Boy Becomes a Vegetarian

Although An An is still unable to walk on the ground, his recovery has exceeded my expectations, "An An's father (hereinafter referred to as" An Father ") recalled. At the moment he received the school phone call, his entire body collapsed:" That was September 21, 2022, An An suffered an accident at school and he was unconscious. "When he arrived at the local hospital in Tianshui, Gansu, An An's eyes rolled up, his mouth frothed, his limbs twitched, and his consciousness was unclear, After rescue, he was pronounced a 'vegetative'.

Since An An had an accident, An's father resigned from his job and stayed by his son day and night, saying, "I am usually busy with work and my time with An An is limited. I hope he doesn't be afraid. When he wakes up, he can open his eyes and see his father

An accident destroyed a family, and the local hospital rescued An An's life, but was unable to awaken him from his slumber.

At the suggestion of the local hospital, An An, who was wearing a ventilator, was transferred overnight from Gansu to Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital.

An An's head CT revealed diffuse brain edema and cortical necrosis. Chronic consciousness disorders, commonly known as vegetative states, are divided into vegetative states and micro conscious states according to their severity. Although micro conscious vegetative states are unable to execute instructions, their brains can understand the content of the instructions. For patients with traumatic coma, six months is the golden period for awakening, and the earlier rehabilitation treatment begins, the easier it is to awaken He Shiming, Vice President of the Brain Hospital of Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, who has successfully awakened 16 vegetative individuals, introduced that time is of great significance in defining the "micro consciousness state".

After a systematic evaluation of neuroimaging, combined with scale scores, and discussion of the condition, the He Shiming team believes that An An, who is out of danger and still in a shallow coma state, is a sudden consciousness disorder and meets the diagnosis of a state of microconsciousness. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be the only hope that can awaken An An.

That is to say, An An may wake up. "The doctor's words were like a deep water bomb dropped on An An's father's heart. Since An An fell ill, he had never thought of giving up.

Under the shadowless light, An An lay on the operating table and was about to undergo bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS). Electrodes implanted in the brain emit electrical pulses of different frequencies, stimulating the relevant nuclei and cortex in the brain to promote wakefulness. The brain is the headquarters of the human body. It is very difficult to find the target nucleus among many nuclei. With the cooperation of Ma Tao, director of the neurosurgery ICU, Vice President He Shiming used DBS to promote the precise positioning of the target, and implanted a micron level electrode into the target nucleus in the brain.

He smiled, Dad cried

Ten days after surgery, at the moment the stimulator implanted with the electrode was activated, An An's facial expression underwent subtle changes. Zhang Chaoyang, the chief physician of An An, captured this change and promptly shared the joy with An's father outside the monitoring room.

One month later, An An's muscle tone significantly decreased compared to before. Seeing the medical uncles and aunts around him day and night, An An no longer curled up by the pillow due to fear. Although he was still in a state of aphasia, he was able to express his emotions through facial expressions and had a clear physical intention towards objects of interest.

The recovery process of a vegetative person is long, making expressions, making sounds, yawning, and sticking out their tongue... every change in him is like the joyful growth of a baby.

The head nurse Han Haijing, who is the same age as An An, can clearly perceive all of this, just like recording her own child's growth, Han Haijing also pays attention to every progress of An An.

He smiled! "Han Haijing exclaimed, as if a baby had recognized her mother. An An was the first to smile at Han Haijing, who had been living together day and night. The medical staff who heard the sound gathered around An An, watching his warm smile heal his heart.

The baby came into this world crying, and those who love him laughed. An An smiled and opened her eyes, but her father in front of her cried.

In the spring of 2023, An An, who has been transferred from neurosurgery, can gradually sit up, stare, and reach out according to instructions, pick up and observe things that interest him. An An can grasp and suck his favorite AD calcium milk by himself. When he sees a strange doctor, he will observe first, smile shyly after getting familiar with him, and voice approval for things that are recognized.

The burden on An's father's shoulders has become lighter, but the burden on his body has become even heavier. As he helped up An, who was lying on his side, he smiled and said, "An's appetite is getting better and better now. He can eat two eggs for breakfast, and when he finished the surgery, he weighed 51 pounds. In just six months, he has grown another 30 pounds, and I can't even hold him anymore." The words were full of happiness. Dad said, 'This is a sweet burden.'.

An An is now sober, and the next step is to solve aphasia and lower limb dysfunction. His recovery still has a long way to go, but we believe that with love, there is a miracle.

I will not give up, as long as there is hope, I will always take him for treatment. Just like half a year ago when I was at the bottom of the abyss, I wanted to explore the light that illuminated the darkness. My father held An An's hand with such determination.

There is no answer to everything in the world, only to experience. After all, the sky always shines, and even without the sun, it will shine.