A teenager coming out of a ten-month coma has no knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic, although he has contracted the disease twice.
Joseph Flavill, 19, was hit by a car in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire on March 1 last year, three weeks before Britain’s first national exclusion began.
He spent months in a coma after suffering a traumatic brain injury, but slowly began to recover and began to respond.
His aunt, Sally Flavill Smith, told the Guardian: ‘He will not know anything about the pandemic because he has been sleeping for ten months. His awareness is starting to improve now, but we just do not know what he knows.
“I just do not know where to start. If someone had told me a year ago what would have happened in the past year, I would not have believed it. I have no idea how Joseph is going to understand what we all went through. ”
She said the family tried to explain over a video call that they could not be with him in person due to coronavirus restrictions, but did not try to explain the extent of the pandemic.
‘When he’s awake in his room, he has no idea why he’s there. We do talk about it by phone, and we try to make him aware that we really want to be there to hold his hands, but we just can not do it. [because of Covid].
‘But we try to keep it as simple as possible, we do not really have the time to go into the pandemic terribly – it just does not feel right? If he can really have face-to-face contact, this is the opportunity to really try to explain to him what happened. ”
The teenager, who was treated at Leicester General Hospital and has now moved to the Adderley Green care center in Stoke-on-Trent to continue his recovery, has started moving his limbs on inquiry and is busy with family and friends through to cut and smile.
Flavill Smith said the teenager was able to follow instructions such as touching his left and right ears, moving both his legs, and answering yes and no by blinking, while his first smiles brought the family to tears. has.
“We still have a long way to go, but the steps he’s taken over the last three weeks have been absolutely incredible,” said Flavill Smith.
He caught Covid twice during his recovery from the crash, but he recovered on both occasions.
Flavill’s mother, Sharon, was able to visit her son on his 19th birthday in December, but had to remain socially distant all the time and wear full personal protection. ‘At that point, Joseph was not as conscious as he is now, and I think she felt incredibly sad because she was not sure that Joseph could even see who she was. She waited months to see him. ”
Prior to the accident, Flavill, from Tutbury, Staffordshire, was a sporty and active teenager and had to receive his Golden Duke of Edinburgh Award in May.
Through their Joseph’s Journey campaign, the family raised more than £ 30,000 to support the teenager in his long-term recovery.