Man wakes after 12-year coma and reveals he was aware the entire time
Martin Pistorius, once thought to be unconscious, describes the silent years he spent fully aware but unable to move or speak.
At age 12, Martin Pistorius fell into a coma-like state that lasted over a decade. While his body was unresponsive, he says he could hear and understand everything — including his mother’s plea for his death.
Martin Pistorius was a healthy 12-year-old in South Africa when he came down with flu-like symptoms that escalated into something far more serious. Doctors diagnosed him with cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, but the root cause remained unclear. Over time, he lost the ability to speak and move.
Though his family believed he was unconscious, Martin says he began to regain awareness around age 14 — but was trapped in a body that couldn’t respond. “I was able to hear, see, and understand everything around me,” he later recalled, “but I had absolutely no power or control over anything.”
He endured years of repetitive days, often spent in front of the TV watching children’s shows. “I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney,” he said in an interview. But the hardest moment came when he heard his mother, overwhelmed and heartbroken, say she wished he would die — unaware he could hear her. “The rest of the world felt so far away when she said those words,” Martin said.
Regaining his voice
Everything changed in 2001 when staff at the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication noticed signs of cognitive response. At age 25, Martin was finally able to demonstrate he was conscious. Using a communication device, he began to express himself again. Slowly, he rebuilt his life.
He married his wife, Joanna, in 2009 and became a father in 2018. Today, Martin works as a computer scientist and web developer. He also wrote a memoir, Ghost Boy, where he details his years in silence and his gradual return to life.
Martin says he has come to understand his mother’s despair during those dark years. “I gradually learned to understand my mother’s desperation,” he said.
His story offers insight into a rare condition known as locked-in syndrome, where individuals are mentally aware but physically unable to communicate. It also raises questions about how we perceive consciousness in patients who appear unresponsive.
While not everyone will face such extreme circumstances, Martin’s journey reminds us of the importance of empathy, patience, and listening — even when it seems no one is there to hear.
