Ghost boy: ‘I allowed myself to vanish’

Miraculous ... Martin Pistorius with his wife Joanna. Picture: Facebook/Martin Pistorius Source: Supplied

FOR 12 years, Martin Pistorius was trapped in a vegetative state, unable to move or talk.

Doctors told his parents he had the brain function of a three-month-old baby and to care for him until he died.

Then one day he awoke, shocking everyone with his jaw-dropping tale.

In January 1988, Pistorius, then aged 12 and living in South Africa, fell ill and was taken to hospital.

He was diagnosed with Cryptococci meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, but doctors weren't really sure what was wrong with him.

His condition rapidly deteriorated and he fell into a coma.

"As a result of the brain infections, I ended up in a vegetative state — in other words, I was unable to react or respond to anything or to communicate," Pistorius, 39, told MailOnline.

"At the end of that year, the doctors apparently told my parents they could do no more for me and to take me home to die, which is essentially what happened."

Trapped ... Martin Pistorius (right), with his dad Rodney Pistorius, was initially hospitalised with what doctors diagnosed as Cryptococci Meningitis. Picture: YouTube/Thomas Nelson Source: Supplied

His parents, Rodney and Joan Pistorius, clung to the hope their son would recover and lovingly cared for him.

Rodney Pistorius would rise at 5am each morning to dress the boy and take him to a special care centre. In the evenings, he would "bathe him, feed him, put him in bed, set my alarm for two hours so that I'd wake up to turn him so that he didn't get bedsores."

But several years into his frozen state, Pistorius began to wake up. He could see and hear everything around him, but couldn't move his body or speak.

"Everyone was so used to me not being there that they didn't notice when I began to be present again. The stark reality hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life like that — totally alone," he recently told NPR. "You don't really think about anything. You simply exist. It's a very dark place to find yourself because, in a sense, you are allowing yourself to vanish."

Painfully aware ... Martin Pistorius could hear and see everything around him but couldn't comunicate. Picture: YouTube/Thomas Nelson Source: Supplied

Being "aware of everything" but unable to communicate left Pistorius in a dark place.

"It's indescribable frustration and an overwhelming sense of total and utter powerlessness and despair," he told MailOnline. "It's also terrifying to have no control or say in what happens to you, from the most basic of things such as what you eat and drink."

He recalled a time his desperate mother said to him, "I hope you die."

"I know that's a horrible thing to say. I just wanted some sort of relief," Joan Pistorius said later.

Trapped with his thoughts, Pistorius taught himself to "disengage" from the voices in his head.

However there were some things he couldn't ignore.

"I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney," Pistorius told NPR about the children's television program that used to play on a loop in his room.

Incredible story ... Martin Pistorius, 39, has regained control of his body. Picture: Facebook/Martin Pistorius Source: Supplied

It wasn't until his 20s that Pistorius regained some control of his head and arms.

An aromatherapist treating him picked up on his subtle "language" — virtually imperceptible smiles, gazes and nods he used to indicate he was paying attention.

She urged Pistorius's parents to take him for tests. After years of therapy and intense computer-based exercises, he was able to use a computer to write messages and operate a synthetic voice.

By 2003, his body was much stronger and he had a basic office job. He later met Joanna, his wife, through his sister.

Pistorius now lives in England and works as a web designer.

He has published a memoir about his life, Ghost Boy: My Escape From a Life Locked Inside My Own Body.

Memoir ... Martin Pistorius has published this book about his incredible claims. Picture: martinpistorius.com Source: Supplied

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