Man woke up in different country on lads' holiday after 'brain spilled out on floor'
It's difficult to believe that a lad whose 'brain spilled on the floor' after a horrifying accident is still alive, let alone living a fairly normal life.
But that is the case with Adam Elnekaveh, who defied the odds after falling from his motorcycle while on a lads' holiday and cracking his skull, which left his brain 'exposed'.
The 34-year-old, who was just 27 at the time, has explained the moment everything went wrong for him while abroad in Thailand, suffering a crash which very easily could have cost him his life.
Doctors even informed Adam's family that he was unlikely to ever wake up from the medically-induced coma that he was placed in, with 15 percent of his brain forced to be removed after oil from the bike came into contact with it.
Advert
He has spoken of his regret about not wearing a helmet during the high-speed crash, a mistake he was very fortunate to essentially get away with, considering he is back on his feet following a gruelling recovery process, which has only left him with limited movement on his left side.
While the doctors in Thailand did a fantastic job in keeping Adam alive and treating his injuries, even if they did apologise to his family after pronouncing him dead, he was actually in a different country altogether by the time he woke up.
Speaking on the Keep Yourself Well podcast with Kalli Youngstrom, Adam revealed that he was in unfamiliar surroundings once he came out of his coma.
He said: "I fell into a 10 day coma. They had to remove a piece of my brain because it was contaminated by the oil. My whole journey started there. My parents loaded me onto an airplane but the oxygen on there wasn't sufficient for me to breath while I was in the coma.
"We landed in Taiwan and four days later I woke up. It was a whole crazy mess."
Adam would have been on an air ambulance, given that coma patients are unable to fly on regular commercial flights, but while this was a huge risk to transport him, it clearly worked out well as he was able to wake up despite doctors warning that he may never do so again.
While we've probably all had nights where we've had a few too many drinks and woken up in unfamiliar surroundings, finding yourself in a completely different country after such a terrifying ordeal would have been extremely disorientating for Adam.
Thankfully, he has now established himself as a motivational speaker and was grateful for his parents never giving up hope.
Adam has since written a book about his ordeal, titled Rebuilding Adam: The Tragedy, where he detailed his recovery.
"I have a house, I have a car, I’m dating, and I have my own business, I’m travelling. I’m still getting things done because, in part, my parents never stopped believing in me," he said.
"So don’t ever stop believing that your son or daughter can wake up from a coma one day. Time is the ultimate healing factor."
Topics: Health
James Moorhouse