They Thought He Died 12 Years Ago. Then, His Eyes Moved.

A young boy was trapped in his own body during a 12 year coma, with a chilling twist— he was lucid for a portion of that time, unbeknownst to everyone around him. Martin's family became his caretakers, struggling with their own emotional turmoil and financial burden. In a harrowing moment, Martin's mother, wishes for her son's death— a plea he hears clearly, despite being thought of as unreachable by doctors.

The 'ghost boy' fought to communicate with the world through the only means he had—his eyes. And one children’s show was why he had to escape his prison. Let’s get into it.

Sources:

[Martin Pistorius]
Read his full story here:
Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body, Martin Pistorius

[Locked-in Syndrome]

[Communication Tools and Devices]

Other Sources:

[Brew’s intro song]
Manhattan Twist by Avocado Junkie

[Music Licensing]
Code: 6QNUQIKNQ19WS5MI, YXTYGRVB0H8MPI99, 3JMXDPLWJOEA1L9T, RUHQEIR9DFYKG0SB, 38LDSR97DNHLRTEQ, ICO2HNXOC2SBRYAK, AEOZIEPITIXB55DB, 4L4SZUFRS1BL7Q7O, I33NOAYFMJPXWC4G, S5NYM2PZJCXNOK9U, KOGKPJXYZY9BOY2U, IXTTQNOIB0UWQPSM, VVAOAYGTKCBCYCPA

[jessicaolson]

This is why as a nurse i always talk to my unconscious patients like they are aware. You never know when they are infact trapped. And besides people deserve that dignity even if they are no longer aware.

[bincenn]

I can't imagine how terrible it must've been to be trapped in your own body, unable to scream, listening as even your own family loses hope

[stevenarvizu]

The fact that some stranger giving him a polite smile was enough to give this guy the will to keep going shows how far deep he really was

[johndohm]

When my dad was in a coma for a month after his aortic dissection, my family took turns visiting each day. This was during covid, so he could only have 1 visitor each day. We each brought a book and would read to him every day, just in case he was still in there. When he finally woke up and could talk to us again, he said that he remembered all of us reading to him and looked forward to when each of us would visit, though he couldn't express it at the time. He has recovered and is back to his usual self.

[basementdwellercosplay]

Man 13 years stuck where everyone ignores you and doesn't know you're in there. Martin must have been very emotional strong to get through all of this

[frndsrmpwr]

I cried listening to the end of this. As I'm struggling with disability that's getting worse but still having all of my cognitive ability, I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard this must have been for him to go through and to hear his mom say that. I cried not because of the suffering he went through, but because he was finally being able to be treated like a human being. I know that people who DO have limited cognitive function are abused by their caretakers all too often, and it's just so heartbreaking bc no matter what cognitive function you have, you still deserve to be treated like a human being with basic dignity and respect. I'm just so glad he was able to be seen, and how amazing that must have felt to finally be heard and to have a big part of his life back. I'm so glad to see him thriving!

[HeisenbergFam]

4:23 kid speaking last words to mother "when home" and waking up is wild to witness, cant imagine how terrifying that experience was

[yourdadsotherfamily]

‘He emerged from pain and suffering with his passion and empathy intact…’ is such a profoundly strong statement

[PUNCHEDPUNCHEDPUNCHED]

Bless that nurse for everything she did, what a saint.

[NekoWinters]

10+ years of his family pushing to keep him alive is honestly impressive, most people will never realize how expensive and insanely stressful it was for them to hold onto hope and follow through with in alot of places he woildve been for lack of a better description "abandoned" for the end to come quickly without care

[mizu_the_floatzel]

It's thanks to Martin that kids in my school I went to had equipment that can help them communicate. I heard about the story about Martin and I was at my special ed school. Somebody you even worked with Martin came to the school to educate the higher functional kids about his disability in which he's now helping others with the same thing. So to Martin. Thank you. You gave voices to the voiceless

[StonedtotheBones]

I honestly don't blame his mom. I do wish someone had been more aware of the condition of the care home but... They didn't know if their son was alive for lack of a better word. Like brew said, to them, he probably died years ago. The fact that they kept hope through 12 years, cared for him, and put everything (including time, and money, etc) they had into it is frankly impressive.

[_vla]

Amazing how a upsetting article about this guy actually has a solid backstory to it.

[salty]

I have PTSD and sometimes dissociation makes me lose the ability to move, speak or even open my eyes. Then I'm kinda caught up between flashbacks, an entirely different world that is basically just a gigantic tunnel of light, but also reality. My awareness of my surroundings always comes back first. It can take me hours to get out of that state and it just feels terrible. However, it feels even worse, when there are people around me, who could help me out of it (mainly by holding ammonia sticks to my nose or using other strong stimuli) but don't get what is going on, even though they know of my disorder. If it happens while I'm laying in bed, everyone would just assume, I was sleeping, while on the inside I'd be screaming for help. Still, I cannot imagine what this man has gone through. The woman who noticed that he was concious is a heroine. Try to pay attention to the "little things" and maybe you'll become one too someday.

[josefine]

It's insane how much one attentive person could help this man improve so drastically! His recovery is amazing!

[ZombieSazza]

God Bless Verna and Yasmin, I’m so glad they saw him as a person and were able to help him

[DAMDO]

being awake during a coma seems so horrifying

[ulawan]

Former coma patient here: yes, please talk to us! Odds are that we are there! My reality was very distorted when I was aware of it, but I was still able to hear what people were saying. I dreamed the entirety of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as my dad read it to me. I couldn't communicate past the ventilator, and the "I have no mouth and I must scream" aspect hits home pretty hard. I still had a sleep/wake cycle and dreamed really strange things, but I was there, and I try every chance I get to tell people that showing up when someone is in the hospital is the absolute highlight of their time there, hope is a powerful medicine to aid recovery.

[christianotaku]

I work with people who use eye gaze and a program called Unidad. The Eyegaze tracks eye movement allowing these people to communicate and form entire sentences just through their eye movement. Its exciting to see a channel like Brew putting this kind of information out, we need to normalize the usage of alternative augementative devices.

[lcbyri]

brew the way that you talk about things makes me feel so happy. im disabled and my husband is as well and to hear you say "martin is more than his illness, and he isn't a tool that able-bodied people get to use to feel inspiration or pity, " was more than i expected. i hope other content creators who cover stories like this learn from how you do it. it's respectful, informative, and most of all, kind. thank you.