Eight years ago, 37-year-old Richard became seriously deprived of oxygen when he choked on a piece of meat. As a result, he could no longer speak, move, and eat independently. He no longer recognized family either. He ended up in a nursing home with the very rare diagnosis of akinetic mutism.
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Coma
Van Erp is a specialist in geriatric medicine and is Richard’s doctor in the nursing home in The Hague. “He has a very rare diagnosis of akinetic mutism. He looks at you, can carry out a command such as shaking a hand, but due to his brain damage, he is unable to initiate a conversation.”
Van Erp and her colleagues read scientific literature about people with the same condition who improved after being given the hypnotic drug Zolpidem.
“We decided to give him the pill. But when he got the pill I was called away. I was on my bike and got a phone call. One of my colleagues said someone wanted to speak to me. It was Richard! A very special experience. “
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Call Father
Richard was given Zolpidem every day. “After taking the sleeping pill, he started talking happily, wanted to call his father and turned out to recognize his brothers again. With some help he was even able to get up from his wheelchair and walk for a while. It was really fantastic. He could eat fries in it. place of tube feeding. “
It caused happiness for Van Erp and her colleagues, but also concern. “He may realize that his life has been destroyed. But this realization of a devastated life never came to him. There was too much brain damage before that. It is great for family that they can talk to him again.”
Shorter operation
The problem, however, is that Richard gets used to the sleeping aid, so that the effect becomes shorter each time. Yet he still receives it regularly and the discovery provides a promising starting point for further research. “There is nothing you can do about something that is no longer there, but you can do something about what you can brake”, says Van Erp.
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