Ladbible X Whatsapp
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Man who suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years described reaction to hearing mum saying she ‘hoped he died’

Home> News> Health

Updated 09:21 29 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 09:22 29 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Man who suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years described reaction to hearing mum saying she ‘hoped he died’

Martin Pistorius recalled the heart-breaking moment where his mother wished for his death, unaware that he could understand her

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair

A man that suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years has opened up on his reaction to hearing his mum wishing that he was dead.

South African Martin Pistorius was just like any other boy growing up in the '80s, and dreamed of a career in electronics.

Born in 1975, he went through his early years with outstanding results in school until one day in 1988, all of that came crashing down when he told his mum that he felt like he had a sore throat and headache.

Originally thought to be a cold, he stayed home from school and with each day he got worse, losing appetite and constantly sleeping, with his brain regressing in age.

Advert

Martin's brain regressed as he got more unwell. (NBC News)
Martin's brain regressed as he got more unwell. (NBC News)

Following visits to hospitals, doctors were left confused as to what condition Martin had exactly, and treated him for cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain.

Ultimately giving up on his long-term health, his parents were told to take care of him until he died, with his last words to his parents being: “When home?”

However, he didn't die, and could feel himself going back to normal after just four years, as he explained to NBC News in 2015, with the help of a computer to speak: “For so many years, I was like a ghost. I could hear and see everything, but it was like I wasn’t there. I was invisible.”

Constantly in the care of others, he was horrified that he may die without anyone realising he was conscious, adding that the 'utter powerlessness' constantly got to him as he lived in his imagination to cope.

Advert

But amidst all of this, Martin's health had a significant strain on his family, and particularly his parents, as arguments would ensue in the Pistorius household due to the stress of taking care of him 24/7.

Martin is now a happy father of two. (NBC News)
Martin is now a happy father of two. (NBC News)

It came to a tension-fuelled breaking point, where his mother turned to him one night, unaware that he could hear her, and said: "I hope you die."

Unable to respond at the time, Martin opened up about how he felt about hearing those words come out of his mum's mouth: “It broke my heart, in a way, but at the same time, particularly as I worked through all the emotions. I felt only love and compassion for my mother.”

He claims that he was abused at the facilities he was staying in, claiming that he was hit, pinched and dropped on purpose.

Advert

But he has credited his recovered to one therapist at the centre, Virna Van Der Walt, who saw that he was conscious because of a 'sparkle in his eye'.

Through eye movements and hand squeezing, the two communicated, and the therapist pushed his family to get Martin's brain tested once again.

Martin and his wife, Joanna. (Instagram/@martinpistorius)
Martin and his wife, Joanna. (Instagram/@martinpistorius)

The test revealed that he was back in control of his body as his brain also healed in parts, while doctors still couldn't diagnose him.

Speaking about how crucial Virna was, Martin claimed: “She was the catalyst who changed everything,

Advert

“Had it not been for her, I would probably either be dead or forgotten in a care home somewhere.”

Now, decades on from contracting 'locked-in syndrome', Martin lives his life in a wheelchair, and communicated with people with a computer that speaks for him.

Unfortunately, he lost all of his childhood memories, but after re-learning how to read, make decisions and socialise, he then learnt to drive and eventually went to college.

Martin is now a computer scientist and web developer and has a family, having met his wife Joanna in 2009, with whom he has two children, and they all reside in the UK.

The father-of-two also went into depth about his traumatic experiences with locked-in syndrome in his 2011 book Ghost Boy.

Featured Image Credit: NBC News

Topics: Health, Parenting, Science, News

Joshua Nair
Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

X

@joshnair10

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    Man, 92, found guilty of murder of woman nearly 60 years ago in UK's 'longest cold case'

    75-year-old Louisa Dunne was murdered in her Bristol home in 1967

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    'Marriage destroyer' holiday hotspot where Brits 'can't stop cheating' revealed

    Time to cancel those flights

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Brit ranked no.733 in world won't receive £99k prize money despite shock first round win at Wimbledon

    Oliver Tarvet won't see the money because of a sporting rule

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Police in frantic search for victim's head after reality star girlfriend charged with murder

    Police believe he was killed nearly two weeks ago now

    News
  • Bloke who didn't sleep for 264 hours suffered horrendous effects for years after
  • Celine Dion admits she ‘almost died’ during battle with incurable stiff person syndrome
  • 'Eldest daughter syndrome' in families is actually a thing, according to science
  • Mum fears son's 'werewolf syndrome' was caused by her eating cat during pregnancy