Man in vegetative state for 12 years wakes up to tell remarkable story

When Martin Pistorius was 12-years-old, he came down with a strange illness that caused him to lose his ability to walk, talk and make eye contact, NPR.org reported.

Pistorius, of Harlow, England, appeared to be in a coma-like state, and doctors scratched their heads over his condition. Their best bet: crypotococcal meningitis. They told Rodney and Joan Pistorius, his parents, who were living in South Africa at the time, to take their son home because his time left was limited.

But, his mother said, “Martin just kept going, just kept going.”

Indeed, Pistorius kept going— insofar as his mind stayed active— for 12 years. Although his parents thought he’d been akin to a vegetable physically and mentally, Pistorius, now 39, says he regained consciousness about two years after the condition assaulted his body.

In sum, he still couldn’t speak or move, but he could think, he told NPR.

via Man in vegetative state for 12 years wakes up to tell remarkable story | Fox News.