Christine Mamaril Slipped Into Coma

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was rocked yesterday by tragic news that befell on the wife of Billy Mamaril. Reports are still sketchy at this time, but it was passed on to several social networking sites that Christine Mamaril slipped into a coma after a seizure.

There are several speculations on what really happened, but no concrete information can be discerned from various reports. Only a twit from Noli Eala informed family and friends that Christine was transferred from the Marikina Valley Hospital ICU to the Heart Center.

According to some medical journals, seizures that last a long time, can:

• Over-stimulate brain tissue, disrupting normal transmission of nerve impulses


• Cause a high fever, which may make the brain malfunction or damage brain tissue

In some cases, people remain unresponsive for hours after a seizure before they fall into coma.

The likelihood of recovery can be predicted by the cause, duration, and rate of recovery from coma:

• Overdose of a sedative: Recovery is likely unless people stopped breathing long enough to cause brain damage.


• A low blood sugar level: Complete recovery is possible if the brain was not deprived of sugar for more than about 1 hour.


• Head injury: Substantial recovery may occur, even if the coma lasts several weeks (but not if it lasts more than 3 months).


• Stroke: Permanent brain damage is likely if coma lasts 6 hours or longer.


• Cardiac arrest or oxygen deprivation: Full recovery rarely occurs in the following cases. After 1 day, the pupils do not quickly begin to narrow (constrict) in response to light. After 3 days, people do not blink reflexively when the cornea is touched and do not move their limbs purposefully. After 1 week, people cannot move the limbs when asked to do so.

At this time, everyone at the PBA office, including the the players and coaches in the league, are asking everyone to pray for the immediate recovery of Christine Mamaril and to extend their support to Billy and their 3-year old daughter.