The story of the ghost boy Martin Pistorius, who became a prisoner of his body

Among the many human phobias, one of the most terrible is the fear of being completely immobilized. Martin Pistorius from South Africa was even more unlucky. As a 12-year-old child, he fell into a coma, and stayed in this state until he was 19. After that, Martin began to perceive the world around him, but no one guessed about it. For many years he was conscious and well aware of everything that was happening around him, without being able to even blink.

Until the age of 12, Martin Pistorius was a very ordinary child. Although no, he was much better versed in exact sciences than his peers and was very smart in electronics. The boy's life was fascinating, and his plans for the future were grandiose. Joan's mother and Rodney's father couldn't get enough of their smart son. But one day everything changed.

One day Martin came home from school and complained to his mother that he felt weak and had a headache. By the evening, the boy became worse, and his parents took him to the clinic. The child was examined there, but absolutely nothing unusual was found. As the young patient was getting worse and worse, he was left in the hospital under the supervision of doctors.

On the day when everything happened, Joan, as always, came to her son in the hospital. It was already difficult for Martin to move and even focus his eyes. "When will they let me go?" — these were the last words of the boy addressed to his mother. And after a couple of hours he fell into a coma.

Martin's body was completely immobilized, his eyes were closed, and his body was insensitive to influences. The fact that the boy was still alive betrayed a barely noticeable breathing. The best specialists threw up their hands and could not explain what happened to the child. Pistorius was treated for cryptococcal meningitis, tuberculosis of the brain and at least three other dangerous ailments, but all in vain. The causes of serious neurological disorders have not been established.

All that the doctors were able to achieve in a few months, as it forced the boy to open his eyes. But Martin's gaze was not conscious and it seemed that he was just sleeping with his eyes open. Desperate to do something to help the patient, the doctors told Joan and Rodney to take their son home and take care of him on their own. He was diagnosed with a "vegetative state" and told his parents that they needed to prepare for the worst.

But Martin did not die, and his parents did not give up. They took care of him diligently and patiently. The boy's father woke up every day at 5 a.m. to take his son to the day care center for the terminally ill. In the evening, after work, he took him home, washed, changed clothes and fed him. At 2 a.m. the alarm clock rang and Rodney went to his son to turn him over. This was necessary so that bedsores would not form.

But the presence of a terminally ill child at home gradually left an imprint on the life of the family. First Rodney and Joan was admired by everyone and friends came to their house to support the couple. But gradually the Pistorius house began to be bypassed — the atmosphere was too painful there.

Martin's parents often quarreled among themselves. After the eldest daughter left to study, things got even worse. Scandals began to occur daily, but, fortunately, the attitude towards the son lying in a coma did not get worse. No one noticed that after a few years the teenager came to his senses. He, as before, could neither move nor give a sign to others. But at the same time he saw, heard and felt everything.

Now Pistorius remembers this time as the most terrible in his life. One day his mother, sitting by the bed, said, "You'd better die."

All Martin had were his thoughts. But there was nothing positive about them either. Then he learned not to think, but just to live like a plant. Perhaps everything would have gone on like this indefinitely, if not for one character of the TV show.

There was no entertainment in the day care center, where Martin spent his time while his parents were at work. Patients were laid or seated in front of the TV and turned on the children's channel. Most often there was a show for kids "Barney and his friends". Martin was disgusted by Barney's huge purple dinosaur.

He didn't want to listen to the silly jokes of this character and didn't want to submit to someone else's will anymore. It was time to get at least a little control over your life. One evening, when the father was changing his son's clothes, he tried to move his hand.

Nothing came of it, but Rodney noticed that the guy started breathing more often. This attempt was unsuccessful, but soon the nurse, Vierna van der Walt, noticed changes in her patient. She was talking to Martin and soon noticed that his eyes were barely moving.

The woman insisted that the 25-year-old boy be taken to University of Pretoria, to the Center for Alternative Communication Methods (Augmentative and alternative communication Centre). There, doctors conducted complex tests and confirmed that Martin is fully conscious, understands and is aware of everything. They also determined that the intelligence of Pistorius, who had been in a coma for 13 years, was absolutely not affected.

Thanks to the doctors' conclusion, the stigma of hopeless was removed from Martin. He underwent several rehabilitation courses and soon began to recover. His parents bought him a special computer equipped with a communication program. With his help, the man began to communicate with others.

Now Pistorius is 39 years old, he lives in the UK, is married, has a son, and has a favorite job. Martin never fully recovered. He uses a wheelchair and his hands cannot perform precise movements. But that didn't stop Martin from graduating from college and starting his own Internet company.

Martin met his wife, Joanna, thanks to his sister. She was her friend and saw the guy on the computer screen for the first time. He was not in the best shape — he was sitting in a wheelchair, and talking to his sister through a special device. But it didn't make any difference.

A month and a half later, a declaration of love took place, and six months later Martin moved to his beloved in England, and the couple got married. About her husband , Joanna says this:

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