There are few stories of extraordinary miracles that can compare to that of Martin Pistorious, a man who emerged from a 12-year coma after being trapped in a vegetative state.
Perhaps you’ve encountered Martin’s incredible journey before—it unfolded around 30 years ago—but if not, get ready for a tale that will leave you speechless with amazement.
In January 1988, a 12-year-old Martin in South Africa left school with a complaint of a sore throat. Over the following months, his condition deteriorated rapidly, both physically and mentally. Reports indicated that his muscles began to waste away, and his hands and feet curled in a claw-like manner before he lapsed into a coma.
Doctors eventually diagnosed him with Cryptococci meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, although the exact cause of his coma and paralysis remained unknown. Left without answers, the doctors informed his distressed parents, Rodney and Joan Pistorious, that they could do no more by the end of his first year in a vegetative state.
They conveyed that Martin now exhibited the brain function of a three-month-old baby, urging his parents to care for him until he passed. Nevertheless, they continued to nurture him, clinging to the slightest hope. Rodney woke at 5am each day to dress Martin and drop him off at a care center; each evening, he would bathe, feed him, and ensure he was turned in bed to prevent bedsores.
Years into his still state, something began to change. Pistorious started waking up, able to see and hear his surroundings yet unable to speak or move. He later described his body as feeling distant, “as if encased in concrete,” leaving him trapped within.
Amazingly, though Martin managed to make subtle movements, they went unnoticed by caregivers. Being “aware of everything” without the ability to communicate led to understandable trauma for Pistorius. He distinctly recalled a time when his mother, Joan, expressed desperation, “I hope you die.”
Trapped In His Body For 12 Years, A Man Breaks Free Via @nprnews http://t.co/HCAayKpVgO pic.twitter.com/WugzqCg7FF
— Marcel Rivera Paniza (@UtopiasArchitct) January 10, 2015
“I know that’s a terrible thing to say. I just wanted some sort of peace,” Joan later confessed.
Imprisoned with his internal thoughts, Pistorious attempted to “disengage” from them. Yet over time, his aromatherapist, Virna van der Walt, noticed his silent communication—barely perceptible smiles, gazes, and nods.
At about age 25, and following Virna’s observation, Rodney and Joan sent him to the Centre For Augmentative And Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria. Tests confirmed Martin was aware and could respond to stimuli.
His caring parents purchased a computer outfitted with communication software for him, and after numerous therapy sessions, he learned to write messages and use a synthetic voice, much like the one made famous by Stephen Hawking.
“Due to the brain infections, I ended up in a vegetative state — unable to react or communicate,” Pistorious explained to the MailOnline at age 39.
“By the close of that year, doctors reportedly told my parents they had done all they could and asked to take me home to die, which is what unfolded,” he expressed.
Speaking to NPR, he revealed: “The realization struck me deeply that my existence would go on that way — wholly alone. You don’t contemplate much at all. You just exist. It becomes a profoundly dark place to inhabit because, essentially, you are letting yourself vanish.”
“I have younger siblings, a brother, and a sister, and my family often vacationed without me, which felt unbearable. My greatest fear was that they’d have a car accident and perish, leaving me forgotten, unfetched.”
Despite the hardships, Martin landed a job at a health center in 2003, employing his newly acquired skills. He marveled again and again at life’s vivid realities—from bright parrot-colored hair streaking down a man’s head to the sharp sweetness of newly tasted cotton candy.
He built websites and graduated from a university. By 2008, he met Joanna, whom he would call the love of his life.
“I work with disabled individuals in my profession, so it’s not something that repels me. I merely sensed—it’s hard to put into words—that Martin was incredibly unique and intriguing,” Joanna enthusiastically shared with MailOnline.
“I feel irked when people refer to me as his ‘carer’; I’m not that. I’m his wife. His mind astounds me, and I’m perpetually learning from him.”
In December 2008, Martin proposed atop the sweeping landscape in a hot-air balloon. The loving pair married in June 2009 and now reside in England, where Martin works as a web designer.
“Joanna taught me the deep essence of the Biblical verse recited at our wedding: ‘Faith, hope, and love endure—and the greatest is love’.”
“My existence encompassed all of those, with love indeed standing supreme, pervading every form. I encountered it as a son, brother, grandson, and friend. It buoyed me through my darkest hours and now, it lifts me nearer to the sun than I ever dared dream I’d reach.”
Martin’s memoir, “Ghost Boy: My Escape From a Life Locked Inside My Own Body,” published in 2011, tells it all.
