A British student woke up from a 11-month coma after a car accident, without knowledge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joseph Flavill (19) from the United Kingdom was rushed to hospital after suffering a serious brain injury when he was hit by a car on March 1 in Burton, Staffordshire. The sun reports.
A-student Joe, from Tutbury, came into a coma three weeks before the UK was plunged into its first national exclusion on March 23.
He caught COVID twice in the hospital but recovered and has now come out of a stage two coma. But that means he has no knowledge of the pandemic that has hit billions of people around the world.
He is now responding to loved ones who need to communicate with him on FaceTime.
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‘INCREDIBLY HARD’
Only Joe’s mother is allowed to visit under virus restrictions, and his family members are now wondering how to explain the world’s COVID chaos to him.
His aunt Sally Flavill-Smith said he had taken ‘incredible steps’ over the past few weeks and now cut, smiled and lifted his legs on instruction.
“It’s the best we’ve seen him recently. It may seem like little progress, but the fact that he can give the nurse a high five is a very big step, ‘she told Staffordshire Live.
‘It’s incredibly hard for his mother not to see him.
‘We also do not know how much he understands, as his accident was before the first time, and it is almost as if he slept through the whole pandemic.
‘It’s hard because we’re more vigilant, but how do you explain the pandemic to someone who was in a coma?
“A brain injury is very unknown, so we did not get an idea of what we could really expect.”
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Joe was in Leicester General Hospital but moved to the Adderley Green Care Home in Stoke four months ago for neurological, physical and cognitive rehabilitation.
His mother was allowed to spend time with him at home on his 19th birthday, but had to remain socially distanced.
Joe, who studied at The De Ferrers Academy, caught COVID once while still in a coma and once after waking up, but he’s progressing well now.
Sally said his face burns when he sees friends and family on the FaceTime screen.
His family wants him to start his physiotherapy again, which had to stop due to COVID.
He wanted to travel to his A levels for a year to go travel, and now his family and friends are planning something special for him.
The fit and healthy Joe, who loved hockey, waited before the accident to attend Buckingham Palace to receive his Golden Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Family and friends flocked, with more than $ 59,000 raised to help Joe and his mother Sharon Priestley recover through the teenager’s recovery.
About 100 fundraisers collected 12,000 km by cycling, hiking, running and rowing for a virtual trip around the world.
You can donate through the GoFundMe page or through the Joseph’s Journey website.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced with permission