Man who spent 13 years in a coma woke up to tell incredible story

A man spent 13 years “locked” in a coma before finally waking up to tell a remarkable story.

Martin Pistorius, now 47, came home from school one day at the age of 12 with a sore throat.

At the time, it was thought he had the flu, but his condition worsened and he was hospitalized.

“I tested positive for cryptococcal meningitis and brain tuberculosis and was treated for both,” he told LADbible.

“My body weakened and I lost the ability to speak and control my movements. »

Martin’s parents, Joan and Rodney, were told there was nothing they could do, but they decided to keep him alive in a care center.

He spent the day there and returned home every evening. In his book, ghost boyhe describes this period of his life as being “like an empty shell, ignoring everything around me”.

But four years later, a breakthrough occurred.

“I remember around my 16th birthday people were talking about the stubble on my chin and wondering if they should shave me,” he said.

“It frightened and disturbed me to listen to what was being said because, although I had no memories or feelings of a past, I was sure that I was a child and that the voices spoke of a future man.

“I was able to hear, see and understand everything around me, but I had absolutely no power or control over anything.

“For me, this feeling of complete and utter helplessness is probably the worst feeling I’ve ever felt, and I hope I never have to feel it again. It’s like you don’t exist, every single thing in your life is decided by someone else.

“Everything from what you wear, to what you eat and drink, even if you eat or drink, to where you will be tomorrow or next week, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

A breakthrough came when he was 16 (Supplied)

At the time, no one realized Martin was conscious, assuming he was still in a coma.

In order to stay sane, Martin revealed how he uses his imagination.

“I imagined all kinds of things, like being really small and getting into a spaceship and flying away. Or that my wheelchair would magically transform into a flying vehicle,” he said.

“I sometimes watched things move, whether it was the way sunlight moved throughout the day. Or watching insects scurry around, but, in reality, I lived in my mind to the point where, at times, I was oblivious to the world around me.”

In 2001, everything changed. Pistorius was 25 when a day center caregiver, Virna van der Walt, encouraged his parents to take him to the Center for Augmented and Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria.

It was there that a researcher held up a sheet of paper with symbols printed on it and was asked to locate a bullet with his eyes. After finding the shape, he was asked to find the dog.

His parents invested in a computer preloaded with communications software. Martin would select letters, words or symbols on the device using a headband attached to his head, which acted like a mouse.

He started working with Virna in 2003 at the center, which gave him a sense of determination and pride. This work led to him securing a paid position at the Center for Augmented and Alternative Communication, before graduating from a South African university.

Martin is now married to Joanna (Provided)

A few years later, Martin met the love of his life, Joanna. She was a South African social worker living in Britain who had become friends with Martin’s sister.

“Over the years, I have been fortunate to have many people who have had a real impact on my life,” he said.

“Joanna is one of them. I spent so many years thinking, wishing and hoping to find someone to share my life with. But I never thought I one day would.

“I remember one time I was driving with my dad looking out the car window and thinking, I have so much love in me and no one to give it to.

“But luckily Joanna and I met. The moment we met, I think deep down I knew she was the one.”

The couple welcomed a son, Sebastian Albert Pistorius, in 2018.

Featured image credit: Courtesy of Martin Pistorious via Harper Collins

Subjects: Health, Science, Books