Woman wakes up from a coma and forgets about cancer
A 21-year-old cancer patient from England forgets her illness in a coma. When she wakes up, doctors have to break the news to her again. But the patient still finds hope.
Acute myeloid leukemia: That was the diagnosis that Kirah Line from Cambridge, England, received in July 2022 at just 21 years old. When she found out she had blood cancer, she was shocked. "I couldn't believe it. I was numb, everything was blurry," the young woman told the British newspaper "Metro".
But she managed to snap out of her shock and immediately started chemotherapy, which she initially tolerated well. "At first, I thought I could handle it, everything was fine," Line recalls. But as the months went on, the side effects set in. Line lost her hair, she was devastated: "I couldn't look in the mirror for a long time. I cried my eyes out."
She also developed sepsis, which led to her being admitted to the hospital at Christmas 2022. There, doctors told her that she would have to be put into an artificial coma. "I was terrified. And it felt like time was running out because I hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone beforehand," Line said. "I remember being held down on the bed and them asking if I had anything I wanted to say," to which Line replied: "Tell my mother I love her."
Shock followed by relief
When Line woke up three weeks later, she felt completely calm and "like in a dream." Due to "delusions" during the artificial coma, she couldn't remember the reason for her hospital stay. "I was so confused. I was convinced that I had injured myself or drowned and that's why I was in the hospital."
She had also forgotten her cancer diagnosis, and so the terrible news had to be broken to her again. Initially, Line was angry and upset, but then she suddenly felt a sense of relief, as she now at least had an explanation.
Line describes the phase after the renewed diagnosis as a time "with ups and downs," during which she learned a lot about herself. She also experienced a form of kindness and care from the hospital staff that she had not known before.
"I thought that was it"
Meanwhile, Line's values have improved, and her cancer symptoms have significantly decreased. The now 23-year-old has completed an apprenticeship and will start studying social work in September.
Despite the improvement, Line still gets regular check-ups and says: "I want to encourage everyone to pay attention to any symptoms and stand up for themselves." She advises other patients: "Stand up for yourself, hold onto hope, and use the support you get." When she woke up from the coma, she initially thought "that was it" and couldn't accept the constant encouragement like "you'll get better" from her family and friends. But now she knows that she wouldn't be here today without that emotional support.
After her coma, Kirah Line was taken to a hospital ward and needed to be informed about her cancer diagnosis once again. Despite the initial anger and sadness, she eventually found solace in having an explanation for her health issues.
During her hospital stay, Kirah Line developed a deep appreciation for the care and kindness she received from hospital staff, which she had not experienced before.
