Midmorning With Aundrea - November 23, 2020 (Part 2) [ENCORE PRESENTATION]

(Part 2 of 4) Research has suggested playing brain games before surgery may help lower the chances of a post-operative complication in older adults.

And a hiker in Washington State bounces back miraculously after a near-brush with death.

New research shows playing brain games before surgery may lower the chances of a common but serious post- surgery complication for older adults.

Laura podesta has more.

Sarah sieling is grateful she can do the activities she enjoys& two and a half years ago she need spinal fusion surgery.

One of my vertebrae would tip and it was pinching a nerve.

So the only time i was without pain was when i was sitting.

//recovery was really pretty good.

As a 71-year old surgery patient, she was at risk for developing post operative delirium.

She took part in a study at the ohio state university wexner medical center that looked at whether playing brain games on a tablet could prevent the complications which can cause confusion.

Dr. michelle humeidan is the lead author.

2:00 what the study found was that if you do the brain exercise before surgery, it does lower your risk of having post- operative delirium.

And //we did have some evidence come out of the data that show that the more brain exercise you do, the better your risk reduction is the exercises focus on memory, speed , attention and problem solving.

Patients who played five to 10 hours in the days leading up to surgery cut their risk of delirium after surgery by more than half.

For this being such a common complication, which is associated with lots of other problems after surgery, including even risk of death, we wanted to really try to find an intervention that would be accessible to patients and have a good impact.

I enjoyed the games, they were a lot of fun.

So, in fact, i kind of missed them afterwards sarah's glad she took part in the study.

I didn't have any problems after the surgery at all.

My mind was very clear she says she'd recommend anything that could making recovering from surgery easier.

Laura podesta, cbs news.

Older patients who have some cognitive deficits before surgery, even just mild, have a signficantly higher risk for post operative delirium.

A hiker who got lost in mount rainier national park in washington state is on the mend, after being brought Áback to lifeÁ in what his doctors call a miraculous recovery.

Rescuers found michael knapinski unconscious eight days ago.

He had become disoriented in freezing, whiteout conditions.

The medical team that saved him spoke to our lead national correspondent david begnaud.

Michael knapinski hikes just about every week - it's a passion he says he turned to&to overcome a drug addiction that nearly killed him.

I used to be a very unhealthy sickly man and i got into hiking and it changed my lifestyle.

The 45-year-old was exploring mount rainier national park on november seventh when he got caught in freezing, whiteout conditions.

D: did you have time to get worried and get scared?

M: i was worried and scared definitely.

I was just taking really small steps//because i couldn't see anything.

That was the last thing he remembers.

The next day, rescuers found him& unconscious but with a pulse.

A navy helicopter airlifted him to harborview medical center in seattle where his heart stopped.

Cpr was performed on him for 45 minutes as doctors hooked him up to an ecmo machine - which temporarily takes over heart and lung function by adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from a patient's blood.

He went into cardiac arrest//and usually when people are this sick.

It's not reversible, but because we had this ecmo technology.

That allowed us to support his body while we warmed him up and got his heart started we were able to get his heart started back up.

After two days of trying to get a reaction& nurse whitney holen called out to michael.

He opened his eyes, and i was like oh crap like that was very purposeful and i said, michael.

Are you with me?

And he like turned and looked at me and nodded his head like of course i'm with you.

Why would you ask that question.

And gave me a big smile.

D: michael, what are you thinking listening to this?

M: i love all of it..// i was very happy to see that everybody here was beyond caring.

Just amazing.

D: will you go climbing again?

M: yes, i will do it more safely next time, but it's a lifestyle for me.

He is grateful as ever.

I'm david begnaud, cbs news.

Just ahead, as severe storms keep coming, scientists say there's a reason behind what we're seeing.

That story is next on mid morning.