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Martin Pistorius went into a coma as a 12-year-old boy and woke up as a 24-year-old man
FOR 12 years, Martin Pistorius was trapped in a vegetative state, unable to move or talk.
Doctors told his parents he had the brain function of a three-month-old baby and to care for him until he died.
Then one day he woke up, shocking everyone with his jaw-dropping tale.
In January 1988, Pistorius, then aged 12 and living in South Africa, left school early complaining of a sore throat.
In the following months, his body weakened as his mind failed. His muscles wasted and hands and feet curled like claws, before he fell into a coma.
The young boy was diagnosed with Cryptococci meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, but doctors weren’t really sure what was wrong with him.
“As a result of the brain infections, I ended up in a vegetative state — in other words, I was unable to react or respond to anything or to communicate,” Pistorius, 39, said.
His parents, Rodney and Joan Pistorius, clung to the hope their son would recover and lovingly cared for him.
Rodney Pistorius would rise at 5am each morning to dress the boy and take him to a special care centre. In the evenings, he would “bathe him, feed him, put him in bed, set my alarm for two hours so that I’d wake up to turn him so that he didn’t get bedsores.”
He recalled a time his mother said to him, “I hope you die.”
“I know that’s a horrible thing to say. I just wanted some sort of relief,” Joan Pistorius said later.
Pistorius said he gradually learned to understand his mother’s desperation and forgave her.
Trapped with his thoughts, Pistorius taught himself to “disengage” from the voices in his head. However, there were some things he couldn’t ignore.
“I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney,” Pistorius told NPR about the children’s television program that used to play on a loop in his room.
One day, in an incredible twist of fate, Pistorius’ aromatherapist, Virna van der Walt, picked up on his subtle “language” — virtually imperceptible smiles, gazes and nods he used to indicate he was paying attention. He was about 25.
“Happiness surged through me. I was Muhammad Ali, John McEnroe, Fred Trueman. Crowds roared their approval as I took a lap of honour,” Pistorius said of the moment his therapist acknowledged his consciousness.
At her request, Pistorius’ parents sent him to the Centre For Augmentative And Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria where tests confirmed he was aware and could respond to statements.
His parents bought him a computer with communication software. After years of therapy and intense computer-based exercises, he was able to use a computer to write messages and operate a synthetic voice. He taught himself to read and write.
In 2003, Pistorius got a paid job at the health centre, working one day a week. In 2008 he met Joanna, a friend of his sister’s, who he married a year later.
Ghost Boy - The Martin Pistorius Storyby Thomas Nelson
Source: http://www.news.com.au/world/brekkie-wrap-...v-1227184038806
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Martin Pistorius went into a coma as a 12-year-old boy and woke up as a 24-year-old man |
