1. The little girl in coma who woke up singing
Mamma Mia!
When young Layla Towsey fell into a coma after
contracting meningitis, her family was told to give her
a kiss goodbye. But it was far from the final curtain for
the three-year-old, who awoke and began singing
Abba's pop hit Mamma Mia!. The musical recovery
came after she spent five days in coma, with mother
Katy waiting only to see how disabled her daughter
would be.
Layla was diagnosed with meningitis B and
meningococcal septicaemia and spent the next five days
unconscious in intensive care. But then Layla began
singing the words to Mamma Mia!, having seen the film
starring Meryl Streep. She was soon breathing by herself
and only blood poisoning scars on her legs betrayed her
ordeal.
2. The 3-year-old girl who started smoking and
drinking after waking up from a coma.
changed since leaving hospital, where she recovered
from five days in a coma and severe injuries. Her
mother Gao said she has started acting like an adult. She
found her daughter hiding in a toilet and smoking her
father's cigarettes. At first she just thieved those, but
now gets them on credit from a local shop. Mrs Gao,
who lives in a shelter, said her daughter has now been
addicted to smoking for a year and has also changed
her preference in clothes. She only likes boy's clothes.
Ya Wen's father has now stopped smoking and the
family have moved to the other side of the city, but said
she still cries for cigarettes whenever she sees them.
3. The Coma boy who told his mum to f*** off.
A mother waited 41 days for her injured son to come
out of a coma - only for him to tell her to 'f*** off'. It
was his way of telling her he was going to be OK.
Joanne Hopkins leaned forward to hear son Joey
whisper his first words since cheating death in a car
smash. But, instead of a touching exchange, the 22-year-
old swore at her. Mrs Hopkins, 39, said she 'cried with
relief'. 'He had been trying to speak but hadn't managed
to get any words out,' she said.
Mr Hopkins suffered serious head injuries and a broken
neck and back in the accident in Portsmouth in June. He
faces two years of rehabilitation but his mother is
optimistic he will make a good recovery.
4. The mother to be who was coma induced to
save her baby's life.
A newborn's pinkish face just after birth is the first
memory of their child for many new moms. But Valerie
Leah doesn't have this memory, because her son Oliver
was born while she was in a coma. Valerie, a 35 years
old expectant mom, was sick with the swine flu while
she was 27 weeks pregnant and in a desperate attempt
to save both mother and child, the doctors decided to
put her in coma and perform a C-section. It wasn't until
3 weeks after she had actually given birth that she was
able to finally hold her newborn.
The couple, who already has two sons, said the ordeal
began when all members of the family were struck
down with the H1N1 virus. Valerie was the last to catch
the virus but her condition deteriorated fast and she
was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.
When she didn't respond to treatment doctors decided
to sedate her completely, and put her on life support.
Baby Oliver later arrived by C-section weighing 2lb
10oz and was immediately whisked away to the special
care nursery. When Valerie opened her eyes a week
later she couldn't understand her flat stomach. Then the
confusion changed to bewilderment knowing that she
had delivered a baby boy.
5. The woman who forgot her life after being put
into coma.
She was in a coma for weeks and suffered brain
damage. But brave Liz Sykes survived and vowed to
fight back. Her remarkable story began in 2008 as she
was driving the familiar short route to work in Golcar
from her home at the time in Linthwaite. Suddenly her
life was turned upside down when she became totally
disorientated. She did not know where she was or how
to get to work. A week later the 23-year-old was struck
down by a series of violent and prolonged seizures. Her
partner Shelton rushed her to Huddersfield Royal
Infirmary and she spent many days there while doctors
tried to diagnose her illness. Doctors then took the
drastic step of inducing Liz into a three-week coma to
try and save her life.
She was eventually diagnosed with encephalitis, the
illness causes inflammation of the brain and is caused
by a virus, infection or mosquito bite. When Liz awoke
from the coma, her memory had been totally wiped. She
could no longer do the simplest of tasks – even walking
and talking had to be relearned. She spent 11 months in
special centres in Leeds and York alongside other
victims of brain damage, including serving police
officers and soldiers from Afghanistan. Liz still suffers
from some short-term memory loss and lacks confidence
in certain areas, but her recovery steps have won her a
nomination for Most Determined Learner in the
Kirklees Community Adult Learning Awards.
6. The woman who falls into coma every time she
says: 'I love you'
A devoted mother is battling a rare medical condition
that puts her into a coma every time she tells her
children: 'I love you.' Wendy Richmond, 53, slips into a
'waking sleep' that leaves her almost paralyzed every
time she becomes emotional or wants to laugh or cry.
But drugs to treat the condition are expensive and not
funded by her local NHS trust, meaning she has to shut
off her emotions to avoid collapsing.
Mrs Richmond, from Pitsmoor, Sheffield, has suffered
from sleeprelated illnesses cataplexy and narcolepsy
since her late teens but was diagnosed only in her 30s.
Detailed figures on sufferers are rare because most
cases go unrecognized or unreported. However, experts
believe there could be up to 30,000 narcoleptics in
Britain.
7. The Croatian girl who awoke from coma
speaking fluent German.
A teenager went into a coma and awoke speaking
another language. The case of Sandra Ralic, 13, has
doctors baffled. She spoke Croatian before, but since
waking up from her 24 hour coma, she has been unable
to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly
in German.
Her parents say she had only just started studying
German at her school in Knin, southern Croatia. Local
hospital chief Dujomir Marasovic said: "We are still
trying to find out what caused the coma and why she
has apparently forgotten how to speak
Croatian."
8. The granddad who became a sex addict after
waking up from coma.
An 81-year-old granddad has been put under house
arrest by his family after a bizarre accident turned him
into a sex addict. Frail Angelo De Luca was in a coma
for four days after he fell out of a plum tree at the
family home in Biasca, Switzerland. But coming round
from an operation his family was horrified to watch
their devoted widower dad turn into a randy teenager
again.
Sex mad Angelo blew £3,000 of his savings in one
session at a local brothel after falling head over heels
for a hooker young enough to be his granddaughter. His
son Daniele has taken control of his dad's two houses
and bank accounts after judges ruled that his sex
addiction made him unfit to govern his own affairs.
9. The crash victim who woke up 19 years later.
A man awoke from a coma after 19 years, turned to his
mother who was at his bedside, and said: 'Mum.' Terry
Wallis, 39, then uttered the word 'Pepsi', followed by
'milk'.
Mr Wallis was 19 and had just celebrated the birth of
his daughter when, on Friday 13 July 1984, the truck he
was travelling in slewed through a road barrier and
plunged 25ft into a creek. It was 24 hours before the
truck was found. He was left paralyzed from the neck
down and in a coma. Despite doctors giving him little
chance of regaining consciousness, Mr Wallis's parents
and his wife Sandi put him in a rehabilitation centre.
Every other weekend they drove him to their farm 26
miles away, where they talked to him in the belief that
familiar surroundings might restore him back to
consciousness. Four weeks ago, Mrs Wallis went to the
centre for what she believed would be a typical visit. It
was then when her son opened his eyes and spoke. Mr
Wallis, from Arkansas, is talking freely and getting to
know his daughter, Amber, who is now 19.
The brain damage he suffered in the accident has left
him with poor short term memory, and, perhaps
inevitably, he remains stuck in 1984. When asked by his
mother who the president was, he replied: 'Ronald
Reagan.'
A peculiar fact: he wrecked on Friday the 13th and 19
years later he started talking on Friday the 13th.
10. The man who chose to be in coma
After years of excruciating pain that drove him to
thoughts of suicide, John Roach decided to gamble on a
controversial new treatment—a ketamine-induced
coma.
Suffering from a debilitating neuromuscular disorder
called reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), John, 50, is
one of about 100 chronic-pain patients resorting to a
radical new treatment in search of relief—a medically
induced coma using ketamine, a surgical anaesthetic
and hallucinogen sold illegally as "Special K." Advocates
say ketamine comas can be a godsend for some. Dr.
Robert J. Schwartzman, neurology chairman at
Philadelphia's Drexel University College of Medicine,
sent more than 60 patients to Germany and Mexico,
since coma therapy isn't FDA-approved. Some 200,000
people suffer from RSD, in which ordinary pain
escalates to crippling levels.
John, a jovial retired phone-company worker, had tried
surgery, physical therapy and heavy doses of pain
medication, including OxyContin, codeine and fentanyl.
When nothing worked, he thought of ending it all. Back
home now, John is amazed that he's been virtually
pain-free. Getting regular ketamine booster injections
(at non-coma levels) from his physicians, Schwartzman
and Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, he has removed a
protective compression sleeve he wore for years and
can once again wear his watch and wedding ring. Best
of all, he can walk hand in hand with Rosemary and
scoop up his granddaughters for hugs.
Mamma Mia!
When young Layla Towsey fell into a coma after
contracting meningitis, her family was told to give her
a kiss goodbye. But it was far from the final curtain for
the three-year-old, who awoke and began singing
Abba's pop hit Mamma Mia!. The musical recovery
came after she spent five days in coma, with mother
Katy waiting only to see how disabled her daughter
would be.
Layla was diagnosed with meningitis B and
meningococcal septicaemia and spent the next five days
unconscious in intensive care. But then Layla began
singing the words to Mamma Mia!, having seen the film
starring Meryl Streep. She was soon breathing by herself
and only blood poisoning scars on her legs betrayed her
ordeal.
2. The 3-year-old girl who started smoking and
drinking after waking up from a coma.
changed since leaving hospital, where she recovered
from five days in a coma and severe injuries. Her
mother Gao said she has started acting like an adult. She
found her daughter hiding in a toilet and smoking her
father's cigarettes. At first she just thieved those, but
now gets them on credit from a local shop. Mrs Gao,
who lives in a shelter, said her daughter has now been
addicted to smoking for a year and has also changed
her preference in clothes. She only likes boy's clothes.
Ya Wen's father has now stopped smoking and the
family have moved to the other side of the city, but said
she still cries for cigarettes whenever she sees them.
3. The Coma boy who told his mum to f*** off.
A mother waited 41 days for her injured son to come
out of a coma - only for him to tell her to 'f*** off'. It
was his way of telling her he was going to be OK.
Joanne Hopkins leaned forward to hear son Joey
whisper his first words since cheating death in a car
smash. But, instead of a touching exchange, the 22-year-
old swore at her. Mrs Hopkins, 39, said she 'cried with
relief'. 'He had been trying to speak but hadn't managed
to get any words out,' she said.
Mr Hopkins suffered serious head injuries and a broken
neck and back in the accident in Portsmouth in June. He
faces two years of rehabilitation but his mother is
optimistic he will make a good recovery.
4. The mother to be who was coma induced to
save her baby's life.
A newborn's pinkish face just after birth is the first
memory of their child for many new moms. But Valerie
Leah doesn't have this memory, because her son Oliver
was born while she was in a coma. Valerie, a 35 years
old expectant mom, was sick with the swine flu while
she was 27 weeks pregnant and in a desperate attempt
to save both mother and child, the doctors decided to
put her in coma and perform a C-section. It wasn't until
3 weeks after she had actually given birth that she was
able to finally hold her newborn.
The couple, who already has two sons, said the ordeal
began when all members of the family were struck
down with the H1N1 virus. Valerie was the last to catch
the virus but her condition deteriorated fast and she
was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.
When she didn't respond to treatment doctors decided
to sedate her completely, and put her on life support.
Baby Oliver later arrived by C-section weighing 2lb
10oz and was immediately whisked away to the special
care nursery. When Valerie opened her eyes a week
later she couldn't understand her flat stomach. Then the
confusion changed to bewilderment knowing that she
had delivered a baby boy.
5. The woman who forgot her life after being put
into coma.
She was in a coma for weeks and suffered brain
damage. But brave Liz Sykes survived and vowed to
fight back. Her remarkable story began in 2008 as she
was driving the familiar short route to work in Golcar
from her home at the time in Linthwaite. Suddenly her
life was turned upside down when she became totally
disorientated. She did not know where she was or how
to get to work. A week later the 23-year-old was struck
down by a series of violent and prolonged seizures. Her
partner Shelton rushed her to Huddersfield Royal
Infirmary and she spent many days there while doctors
tried to diagnose her illness. Doctors then took the
drastic step of inducing Liz into a three-week coma to
try and save her life.
She was eventually diagnosed with encephalitis, the
illness causes inflammation of the brain and is caused
by a virus, infection or mosquito bite. When Liz awoke
from the coma, her memory had been totally wiped. She
could no longer do the simplest of tasks – even walking
and talking had to be relearned. She spent 11 months in
special centres in Leeds and York alongside other
victims of brain damage, including serving police
officers and soldiers from Afghanistan. Liz still suffers
from some short-term memory loss and lacks confidence
in certain areas, but her recovery steps have won her a
nomination for Most Determined Learner in the
Kirklees Community Adult Learning Awards.
6. The woman who falls into coma every time she
says: 'I love you'
A devoted mother is battling a rare medical condition
that puts her into a coma every time she tells her
children: 'I love you.' Wendy Richmond, 53, slips into a
'waking sleep' that leaves her almost paralyzed every
time she becomes emotional or wants to laugh or cry.
But drugs to treat the condition are expensive and not
funded by her local NHS trust, meaning she has to shut
off her emotions to avoid collapsing.
Mrs Richmond, from Pitsmoor, Sheffield, has suffered
from sleeprelated illnesses cataplexy and narcolepsy
since her late teens but was diagnosed only in her 30s.
Detailed figures on sufferers are rare because most
cases go unrecognized or unreported. However, experts
believe there could be up to 30,000 narcoleptics in
Britain.
7. The Croatian girl who awoke from coma
speaking fluent German.
A teenager went into a coma and awoke speaking
another language. The case of Sandra Ralic, 13, has
doctors baffled. She spoke Croatian before, but since
waking up from her 24 hour coma, she has been unable
to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly
in German.
Her parents say she had only just started studying
German at her school in Knin, southern Croatia. Local
hospital chief Dujomir Marasovic said: "We are still
trying to find out what caused the coma and why she
has apparently forgotten how to speak
Croatian."
8. The granddad who became a sex addict after
waking up from coma.
An 81-year-old granddad has been put under house
arrest by his family after a bizarre accident turned him
into a sex addict. Frail Angelo De Luca was in a coma
for four days after he fell out of a plum tree at the
family home in Biasca, Switzerland. But coming round
from an operation his family was horrified to watch
their devoted widower dad turn into a randy teenager
again.
Sex mad Angelo blew £3,000 of his savings in one
session at a local brothel after falling head over heels
for a hooker young enough to be his granddaughter. His
son Daniele has taken control of his dad's two houses
and bank accounts after judges ruled that his sex
addiction made him unfit to govern his own affairs.
9. The crash victim who woke up 19 years later.
A man awoke from a coma after 19 years, turned to his
mother who was at his bedside, and said: 'Mum.' Terry
Wallis, 39, then uttered the word 'Pepsi', followed by
'milk'.
Mr Wallis was 19 and had just celebrated the birth of
his daughter when, on Friday 13 July 1984, the truck he
was travelling in slewed through a road barrier and
plunged 25ft into a creek. It was 24 hours before the
truck was found. He was left paralyzed from the neck
down and in a coma. Despite doctors giving him little
chance of regaining consciousness, Mr Wallis's parents
and his wife Sandi put him in a rehabilitation centre.
Every other weekend they drove him to their farm 26
miles away, where they talked to him in the belief that
familiar surroundings might restore him back to
consciousness. Four weeks ago, Mrs Wallis went to the
centre for what she believed would be a typical visit. It
was then when her son opened his eyes and spoke. Mr
Wallis, from Arkansas, is talking freely and getting to
know his daughter, Amber, who is now 19.
The brain damage he suffered in the accident has left
him with poor short term memory, and, perhaps
inevitably, he remains stuck in 1984. When asked by his
mother who the president was, he replied: 'Ronald
Reagan.'
A peculiar fact: he wrecked on Friday the 13th and 19
years later he started talking on Friday the 13th.
10. The man who chose to be in coma
After years of excruciating pain that drove him to
thoughts of suicide, John Roach decided to gamble on a
controversial new treatment—a ketamine-induced
coma.
Suffering from a debilitating neuromuscular disorder
called reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), John, 50, is
one of about 100 chronic-pain patients resorting to a
radical new treatment in search of relief—a medically
induced coma using ketamine, a surgical anaesthetic
and hallucinogen sold illegally as "Special K." Advocates
say ketamine comas can be a godsend for some. Dr.
Robert J. Schwartzman, neurology chairman at
Philadelphia's Drexel University College of Medicine,
sent more than 60 patients to Germany and Mexico,
since coma therapy isn't FDA-approved. Some 200,000
people suffer from RSD, in which ordinary pain
escalates to crippling levels.
John, a jovial retired phone-company worker, had tried
surgery, physical therapy and heavy doses of pain
medication, including OxyContin, codeine and fentanyl.
When nothing worked, he thought of ending it all. Back
home now, John is amazed that he's been virtually
pain-free. Getting regular ketamine booster injections
(at non-coma levels) from his physicians, Schwartzman
and Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, he has removed a
protective compression sleeve he wore for years and
can once again wear his watch and wedding ring. Best
of all, he can walk hand in hand with Rosemary and
scoop up his granddaughters for hugs.
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