Imagine your last memory being in 2005. It certainly was a different world back then – no black US president, no iPhones, no Facebook. This is what happened to Ayanda Nqinana, who was put into a coma following a late night crash on a lonely Eastern Cape road in 2005.

Ayanda has been visited by his wife, Nomfundo, regularly since he slipped into a coma seven years ago. Unfortunately, she saw no signs of improvement.

His eyes, he couldn’t follow any direction. For instance, if you were talking to him, even if you move from this angle to that angle, he doesn’t follow you. He couldn’t talk. Not at all.

A family friend read an article in the newspaper about a man in Gauteng who was in a coma and woke up after being given a sleeping tablet. With a bit of persuasion, Nomfundo pressed her doctors into giving him a prescription for Stilnox.

Five days passed, and nothing happened. Then she got a call, asking her to come into the hospital. Ayanda was awake. But not only did he wake up, he was talking too. A lot of his awareness has been regained, and he now frequently holds long conversations with his nine-year-old son, who he last saw seven years ago.

The final part of the recovery will be for Ayanda to get some strength back into his legs, after his muscles have wasted away. Then he’ll be going home.

[Source: News24]