Man Awakens 12 Years - A South African man who spent more than a decade in a coma has written a compelling book detailing his experiences.
Martin Pistorious, 39, was just 12-years-old when he developed a mystery illness. Medical experts speculated that it is cryptococcal meningitis. Nonetheless, there was very little they could do for Martin as his condition worsened progressively.
First he lost the ability to move by himself, then his sight and finally he lost his voice. Twelve years later, Martin has miraculously recovered from the coma and regained lots of his neurological abilities. He now lives in England with his wife Johanna, where he works as a freelance web developer.
In his new compelling book Ghost Boy: My escape from a life locked inside my own body, Martin Pistorious has revealed that contrary to what everyone thought, he was well awake for the most part of his 12-year-long coma.
"I was there, not from the very beginning, but about two years into my vegetative state, I began to wake up," Martin said during an interview with NPR.
Although Martin could not see, speak or move, he says he could sense his environment like "any normal person."
"Everyone was so used to me not being there that they didn't notice when I began to be present again," Martin notes.
But regaining awareness of his environment was only one step of his recovery. Martin found himself literally trapped in his body, unable to control the things happening around him - like stopping the special care center that he was taken to daily from playing Barney all day long.
He also had to fight depressing thoughts about his condition arising from himself and others. Martin's mother reportedly told him once that she hopes he dies. Although Joan, his mother, did not know that he was aware, Martin was and heard everything.
Martin's parents Rodney and Joan Pistorious cared for him around the clock for the 12 years that he was in a coma. Medical experts say their efforts contributed in diverse ways to his miraculous recovery.
Martin says he had to learn how to escape from the prison of his body. Eventually he could free himself of the depressing thoughts that haunted him and he began to also get well physically.
He has also noted that he understands his mother's desperation when she wished him death. "The rest of the world felt so far away when she said those words," he explains.
Medical experts described Martin Pistorious' condition as 'locked in syndrome.' The condition is usually associated with severe brain damage or nerve injuries and stroke.
