Our daughter suffered from severe advanced bacterial meningitis in June of 2006. When she arrived at the hospital she was having seizures and difficulty breathing. She was diagnosed quickly and put into an induced coma for 8 days. She remained hospitalized for nearly two months before being released. She was unable to speak or communicate for about 30 days, after which she began to "wake up" at an astonishingly rapid rate. All her doctors have described her recovery as "remarkable". At about 2 months out, her neurolgist at Mt. Sinai (NYC) said, "We've never seen anything like this...no body in the department has ever seen anyone so sick recover so quickly."
I was aware of the story about the trapped miner who experienced a dramatic recovery (from brain damage due to oxygen depravation) after being administered high doses of fish oil. Because of the nature of my business I was also aware that omega-3 fats are a natural anti-inflammatory, as well as the basic building blocks of the brain (and all!) cells, and that fish oil is an inexpensive, HARMLESS therapy with a great deal of research to recommend it. Consequently we insisted doctors add fish oil to her feeding tube during her her coma (8 days). We strongly believe that this mitigated the normal ravages of our daughter's condition.
Fifteen months have now passed and our daughter still experiences some residual cognitive deficits (fatigue & confusion when stressed) but is able to function quite normally and has returned to college in NY where she is determined to finish her degree. I suggest any parent or caregiver of a meningitis patient get as much fish oil or wild salmon (omega-3 rich food) into the patient as possible as soon as possible and for as long as possible thereafter.
Besides the neurological benefits, fish oil is also firmly established to address mood disorders and depression, which may occur as the patient struggles to cope with rehabilitation and the injustice of what's happened to them. Through it all our daughter has had an amazingly positive attitude and congenial mental state.
My heart goes out to anyone reading this who is currently experiencing what we did, and wish you the best of luck.
