A man who woke from a six-month coma has taken to the internet to reveal what it was like.
John Pennington’s life changed forever when at the age of 30, he sustained severe injuries in a car accident, which left him in a coma.
John, from Las Vegas, endured a traumatic brain injury and collapsed lungs among other grave injuries. Sharing what happened when he woke up on Reddit, he said: “I woke up thinking it was time to go to work, but for some reason, found myself strapped to a bed in the hospital.
“When I met eyes with the attending nurse and asked if I could use the bathroom, she teared up and ran out of the room – only to come back a few minutes later to apologise and explain that for the past six months, I had been in a coma due to a very severe traumatic brain injury.”
The shock didn’t stop there, as John was soon slapped with a staggering $2.5m (about £2m) bill for his hospital stay, excluding the additional costs from two rehab stints at Nevada Community Enrichment Program. Determined to enlighten others about his experience, John initiated a Q&A session on Reddit.
One user queried about any significant personality changes after his ordeal, to which John replied: “I don’t believe I have any personality changes with the exception of going through this whole experience and the emotional and psychological effects it’s had on me.”
Another user queried: “What was the world event that happened while you were comatose that shocked you the most when you came to hear of it?” Heartbreakingly, he revealed that upon awakening his first thoughts were of his father, and for weeks no one would give him a clear answer.
He recounted: “It was tough feeling like I upset him or he couldn’t handle seeing me like that. My sister told me four weeks after waking up that our father had killed himself. He couldn’t handle everything going on and took his own life. That guilt followed me throughout my recovery […] I learned a bit more about suicide and it helped me finally forgive myself. Was there a reason to blame myself? No. Some drunk kid driving his father’s BMW with no headlights wrecked into my buddy and me causing the traumatic brain injury, but I couldn’t shake that feeling for some time.”
In a subsequent update, John explained that he initially started a GoFundMe to manage his medical expenses, but it wasn’t successful. Fortunately, his attorney stepped in to assist with the costs.
He added: “My lawyer did a great job getting everything paid though. I was relieved when he told me it worked out. I didn’t get rich, but if you considered how much I owed. I kinda did.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.