How do doctors make predictions of how long someone will live or if they’ll ever walk normally again?

Question

I was rewatching an old video on YouTube and the guy was able to walk again after 10 months of practicing yoga and losing 140 lbs. If no one on earth can exactly predict when someone will die or if they’ll be able to walk again, how and why do doctors come up with these predictions?

https://youtu.be/qX9FSZJu448

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

For death, we guess.

It’s an educated guess, but still.

Mum had cancer they said maybe 3 months. She died in 2 weeks.

I’ve had patient’s linger for days to weeks. Others go downhill very quickly and pass.