I believe thats what its called.

My best friend since third grade (over 10 years ago) was in a car accident a little over a month ago and has been in a coma since then. I found awhile ago he has DAI, but i never really even bothered asking about it because i was more worried about him being in a stable condition. Now he is in a stable condition, and they took him off the meds (partialy) and he gave me lots of signs, squeezing my hand, lifting it up, and he forced his eyes open at one point (lots of stories about this, but in summary, i believe he can hear us because when i said certain things he would squeeze my hand or give other reactions). I asked the nurse about it and he said its just subconscious, he has been in one spot for over a month and his body enjoys the feeling of moving, and when he hears voices its just his brain reacting to noise (i noticed he moves more to closer people like myself than others).

But my question is mainly about this DAI. I looked it up and well, the statistic says 90% of people never wake up from it, and the 10% that do have severe brain issues. The nurse was saying that he will need to relearn lots of basic tasks, but he was saying as if he WILL wake up, maybe cueing that he has a minor case of the DAI. Can someone just explain to me this disorder in depth. And if he were to wake up, what are the possible brain damages that he might have, where ever i searched they didnt mention anything. Can it be just a permanently altered personality, amnesia, just difficulty functioning, or (ugh...) retardation?

My husband had a Traumatic Brain Injury and actually ended up mute, incontinent, unable to walk......he had major brain surgery and then nurses dropped him on his head. I honestly thought he was going to die. His improvement was slow but, it did happen. I hope your friend recovers...many do. Recovery requires lots of patience. They have to learn to do everything all over again..such as dressing. Memories still remain intact. Learning new things is very difficult. As a nurse I beleive that those who are in an unconscious state can hear. I was taught that hearing is the last sense to go prior to death. Your friend is not brain dead so, talk to him and even hold his hand...the power of touch is very healing. You are a good friend to visit someone when they need it most. :D :)