Calgary woman says she heard and felt everything during a medically induced coma

A Calgary woman says she could hear and feel what was happening around her while she was in a medically induced coma for about three and a half days last July. Toyosi Adeneye, 30, who uses the online alias Dorothy Tuash and is part of the duo The OT Love Train, described the experience in an interview with the Daily Mail. 'Due to cervical incompetency, I had preterm labor at 23 weeks gestation and they had to perform an emergency dilation and evacuation on me,' she recalled. 'It was discovered that I had developed chorioamnionitis which led to me also developing sepsis.' 'They had to put me into a coma in order to administer treatment and save my life.' She was in the coma for three and a half days during which time she said there were moments when she was fully conscious and could 'hear clearly' — even seeing when the doctors opened her eyes to administer drops.

While unable to move or speak, she described a constant sense of panic. 'I had moments where I was conscious and could hear clearly – I could even hear my nurses talking about me,' she said. 'When they opened my eyes to administer eye drops, I could see. I just couldn't communicate that to anyone.' 'I will never forget how I felt. I was in a state of panic because I didn't know why exactly I was in a coma as the last thing I remembered was being sedated in the operating room.' The worst part, she said, was the fear that life-support could be withdrawn. 'I didn't know how bad or how good my progress was, how long I had been in the coma for or how long I would be there,' she continued. 'I was also looking for my husband and I was upset I couldn't communicate with him. I was scared because I wasn't sure if they were going to turn off my life support. I was anxious throughout the entire experience.' Cleveland Clinic defines a coma as a 'deep unconscious state where you can't wake up or respond, even to pain or loud sounds.' The Daily Mail notes that 'it's possible' to hear during a coma, adding that 'some people in a coma can hear what's happening around them and even remember parts of it later.' Toyosi recalled going in and out of consciousness and feeling 'trapped in her own body.' 'Every time [I came to] I would get really anxious, I would black out and then suddenly come to again. It was a horrible cycle,' she said. In addition, she described intense pain as doctors and nurses pricked her with needles and IVs. Unable to make much noise, she said she was forced to 'scream on the inside.' 'One time a nurse thought my neck wasn't straight so she tried to adjust it and then she accidentally bent it and it started aching,' she remembered. 'I also heard a nurse say the doctor asked her to tape my eyes shut and I was screaming inside because when my eyes were slightly open, I could see a little bit and that was my only portal to the outside world.' Toyosi had 'no concept of time' and felt like the days stretched into months, even though it had been only three days. 'I recall feeling a huge relief when I finally came out of the coma.'

Two months after waking, she says she is doing much better, though the experience continues to affect her mental health. She had to relearn how to walk, breathe and talk, and she says nightmares eased but did not disappear overnight. 'I suddenly came to but this time, I could move my body slightly. I was so excited to see my husband. I was also happy to be able to breathe by myself again,' she said. 'Unfortunately, I had nightmares when I first came home from the whole experience but that's all in the past now. I am in such a good place now, focused on continuing to build myself and my career. I'm doing way better than I was but grief still shows its face from time to time.'