NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) – A British teenager is slowly emerging from a coma almost a year after being hit by a car and he is unaware of the coronavirus pandemic, although he has contracted the virus twice.
Joseph Flavill, 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was hit by a car in central England’s Burton-on-Trent on March 1 last year, about three weeks before a first national blockade was imposed to contain the spread of the virus.
During that time, his family was unable to stay close to him and hold his hand due to coronavirus restrictions, mainly trying to communicate with him via a video link.
“Joseph recently started showing little signs of recovery, which we are excited about … We now know that he can hear us, he responds to small commands,” his aunt, Sally Flavill, told Reuters.
“When we tell him ‘Joseph, we can’t be with you, but you are safe, it won’t be forever’, he understands, he listens to you, he just can’t communicate,” she said, adding that now he has signed ‘yes’ with a blink and ‘no’ with two blink.
Since Joseph’s accident, Britain has recorded nearly four million cases of COVID-19, including more than 110,000 deaths, in a pandemic that has turned life upside down worldwide, closing schools, universities, shops and many other places.
“I don’t know how Joseph will understand our stories about this blockade,” said his aunt, adding that he was still very ill and was facing a “very, very long journey” back to some normal life.
Joseph, who before the accident was a great sportsman, is now receiving treatment at a health center in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, and his family has started a fundraising campaign https: //www.josephsjourney. co.uk to help support your long-term recovery.
(Reuters Television report; text by Gareth Jones; edition by Mike Collett-White)