The world of human health and how the body goes into healing mode is amazing. After experiencing trauma, God has designed several physiological responses to enable the body to “reboot” or to retreat for the purpose of healing. One of those states of repair is called a coma.

I am not a medical professional but I have been their subject on several occasions. So, I have heard them talking. Isn’t it fascinating to be the object of attention of several very bright humans dressed in white coats?

They poke and prod. Then, they discuss and compare notes on their poking and prodding. Of course someone’s clever poke may have been overlooked by another so everyone has to get into the act, so you get poked more, the same kind of poke, just by a different doctor. I think that they call this pin cushion medicine.

My friend, John, was the object of several doctors’ examination. They diagnosed him with prostate cancer. That sends a shiver down the spine of most of us men. Surgery was the best course of action in this case.

The surgery went fine. The doctors accomplished all that they wanted to do and everything turned out textbook perfect. But, when they tried to bring John out of his anesthesia, that’s when things got dicey.

John did not respond to attempts to bring him around. The more that time passed the more critical things became. Doctors were aware of the threshold of time before the brain would become at risk with the oxygen flow in flux.

That is when the surgeon in charge ordered John to be put into an induced coma. This state of extreme unconsciousness protects the brain’s higher functions, giving the body time to heal without any further parts suffering damage in the time being.

In a coma state a person can still stand, walk and even carry on a conversation but all from their subconscious. Usually, patients do not remember such activity. John is one of them.

He was chatting with his family, hallucinating about history and generally giving orders to anyone who was around. But, the best part of the coma was that after fourteen days, John woke up! He doesn’t remember anything from those days and he is well on his way to mending. Welcome back, John! Don’t forget you borrowed a hundred from me about fourteen days ago.