Łucja, a 7-year-old who had an accident while playing in the garden and whose life was saved by her 12-year-old brother, will wake up on Thursday morning after a three-month coma at the “Alarm Clock” clinic created by Ewa Błaszczyk. – It feels great every time. The relatives experience it incredibly: the family (my mother lived with Łucja all the time at the clinic), friends and staff – said Ewa Błaszczyk, with whom Edyta Brzozowska spoke the evening before. The girl is the 50th child who will come back to consciousness thanks to the medical team of this hospital and the “Akogo?” Foundation.
- At the turn of July and August, Lucia was crushed by a stone garden sculpture. Her 12-year-old brother, who gave first aid, saved her life
- The patient’s willingness to wake up is clearly evident. Tests and stimuli are repeated with them so often that at some point doctors may decide: “we wake up”
- Ewa Błaszczak: “Now I am focusing on creating the second” Alarm Clock “, but for adults.
Edyta Brzozowska: Thursday, October 18, 2018, will be an important day for you and for the “Alarm Clock” Clinic, which you created five years ago thanks to your foundation “Akogo?”.
Ewa Blaszczyk: Yes, because we will wake up Łucja, a 7-year-old girl from Krakow. She had a serious accident at the turn of July and August. During a garden party, a stone garden sculpture fell on her, swinging while playing. A huge weight overwhelmed the little one. Her 12-year-old brother saved her life. Before the ambulance arrived, she started to breathe because he gave her artificial respiration.
Was she in a bad condition?
She was unconscious all the time and in the ICU. Then she was brought to “Budzik”. She quickly recovered from these unpleasant events, now she is in good shape. Procedures decide when the child will wake up from a coma. They very precisely define when specific medical actions will be taken after the injury occurs. Others are in trauma, others in cardiac arrest.
Under what circumstances did Lucia begin to give hope that she could be awakened from a coma?
It was a long process, because our “alarm clock” program assumes that children in a coma are always accompanied by a loved one and live with him. My mother was with Lucia all the time.
What do you feel when in “Alarm Clock” another child comes back to consciousness, to life?
It feels great every time. It is an amazing experience for relatives: family, friends, and also the staff. It just so happens that Łucja is the 50th child who will wake up in our clinic.
Waking up doesn’t look like in movies where the patient suddenly opens his eyes and everyone is surprised. How do you know if the sick person wakes up?
The patient’s willingness to wake up is clearly evident. Tests and stimuli are repeated with them often enough that at some point doctors may decide: “we wake up”. They then stay with us for some time. Because “Alarm Clock” has its own medical and rehabilitation team that works like a well-oiled machine.
Do you have any plans to expand “Alarm Clock”?
I am task-oriented. Of course, I am proud that the “Alarm Clock” Clinic is functioning well, although it does not surprise me at all. I had expected this much earlier, it was just the plan. Half of our little patients woke up. So what we do makes sense. Now I am focusing on creating the second “Alarm Clock”. But for adults.