When very sick patients get visits from loved ones it can be just the boost they need to pull through their illness.
There have even been cases when people have come out of a coma thanks to constant attention from family and loved ones.
But for a 62-year-old man from the U.K. who was put into an induced coma, it was his beloved four-legged friend that helped him pull through faster than expected.
Andy Szasz, from Southampton, was struck down with pneumonia and was put into a coma when he stopped breathing.
Hospital staff told his family that the 62-year-old, who also has cancer, would probably be in a coma for at least a week so his family rallied round to ensure they were with him all the way, helping him to pull through.
But it was video calls with his four-year-old schnauzer poodle cross Teddy, helped by his grown up sons, that his family believe was the reason Andy woke from his coma four days later.
Andy had brought Teddy home from an animal shelter just three months before he was diagnosed with bowel cancer, the Daily Mail reported.
When Andy showed rapid signs of improvement his wife Estelle persuaded hospital staff to break protocol and allow Teddy to visit his sick owner Andy.
“Being able to take him into hospital gave Andy that drive to recover much faster than the doctors expected”, Estelle told the Daily Mail.
Woke up earlier than expected
‘The doctors told me that Andy would be in the coma for at least a week, but he woke up four days later and all he could talk about was seeing Teddy”.
Fiona Hall, a nurse at the hospital where Andy was admitted said animals can be very beneficial to a patient’s recovery.
“It can be motivational, aiding recovery, and can provide a pleasant and familiar experience in what can otherwise prove to be a long, uncomfortable journey in hospital”, she said, according to the Daily Mail.
Teddy, who Andy also credits with helping him to beat cancer, was given a special award for helping his owner by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Dogs are wonderful animals! Share if you agree.
