Hi! I’m planning to write a story about a person who had a car accident and because of that he became comatose for 2 months.
Aproximately how long would be the recovery period? Can a person who had been comatose for 2 months, can go back to his normal life after a year? Thanks. 
Try this one Man Awakens From Coma After 2 Months
I guess the answer to that would very much depend on the individual case, the type and the extent of the injuries, the age and the physical condition of the individual before the accident.
Take for instance the case of Austrian race car driver Karl Wendlinger who lay in a coma for 19 days. He did make a full recovery and returned to racing after less than a year. On the other hand, Michael Schumacher, who suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in late 2013, probably and unfortunately will never be the same again. He lay in a coma for about 6 months.
Both men suffered a severe head trauma, both were relatively young (especially Wendlinger) and both were in top physical and mental shape before their accidents. But again, each case is different. 2 months in a coma is long time.
Even without any brain injury related issues, I suspect there would be a fair degree of muscle atrophy if you just laid there for 2 months. After my knee injury and surgery, there was noticeable muscle atrophy after 1 month in that leg without doing any real movement. I can’t help but think it would be worse and full-body if you were in a coma.
Thanks everyone for answering my question. I really do appreciate it. 
I think I’m going to take as an inspiration for my story what @dontask have posted.
Thanks again!
Oh, this is the first time I’ve heard about muscle atrophy. (Not a medical student. Lol) Thanks for letting me know. 
I don’t know about recovery period, but if I wanted to run for President, I definitely wouldn’t ever shake your character’s hand.
After two months there’s gone to be a lot of muscle atrophy. I have a nephew who suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, followed by a long coma.
He didn’t just suddenly wake up, it was a slow process, starting withe partial consciousness, a state like being half awake, and gradually becoming more and more functional. It was some weeks after he “woke up” before he spoke again. When he initially came out of it he needed assistance to sit up, he was that weak. There was a lot of physical rehab to get him back on his feet. There was mental rehab required as well.
Well… my nephew will NEVER go back to his normal life due to brain damage. Although he seemed to, initially, after many months, recover his skills and intellect but then it became apparent he has impaired executive function. After many years he’s finally been placed in a supportive living situation.
Some people can regain a high level of functioning, but with that long a coma there is almost always some sort of impairment. It could be speech, movement, emotions… my nephew also has diminished fine muscle control. Among other problems. It’s sad - he’s still quite intelligent in some respects, I’ve had some fascinating high level conversations with him, but he’s… off in some ways. Putting a plan into action, foreseeing consequences - not happening anymore.
Even with apparent full recovery there are typically some personality changes - they might laugh more easily, or less so. They might be more emotional or emotionally flat.
The younger the person is the more likely they are to recover function fully (although my nephew was in his 20’s at the time of his accident, so youth won’t always allow a full recovery.
Even if you recover from a major head injury, you are still at risk of early dementia, and if your brain is injured again you are likely to be much worse off the second time around.
A neurosurgeon I worked with once told me the rule of thumb (Then 1990s) was every day of unconsciousness equals one month of rehab. YMMV.
The reason we had the conversation was because my brother had been in a car accident and was, at the time, unconscious, but had just started to respond to voices.
He’d been unconscious for 14 days. His rehab took over 2 years.
If there is a reasonable chance of recovery for a comatose person, would it be feasible to try to prevent muscle atrophy by moving the patients legs and arms.
On the other hand I know one person who caught the business end of an IED back in 2011. In a coma for about 6 weeks. Massive damage to some organs. Broken bones just about everywhere and severe head trauma.
He recovered enough to return to frontline service earlier this year. So it depends.
notfrommensa they move you around all the time. Pump your legs, move your arms, switch you from position to position to prevent bedsores. It couldn’t hoit but it doesn’t really help. When you come out of a coma you’re weak as a kitten. My head shook because my neck muscles were barely strong enough to hold it up but nobody told me about muscle atrophy. I thought I was nervous.
Nope, that does jack for the muscle atrophy.
It does, however, keep the joints flexible and the muscles from contracting and contorting the limbs, so it’s well worth doing for that.