Waking to Speak German
Was in coma for 3 months, as the result of a motorcycle accident in Thailand. When I first came out I was all over the place, with significant memory loss. I had forgotten my native language of English, and spoke German. Consult a physician for medical advice.
There are many stories of coma victims who wake to speak a foreign language. I did know some German before, having lived and worked there for a year. The jobs I had were in English. After coma, by all accounts I was fluent. I only spoke German, it had become my first language. All my life I have spoken English, I come from Australia. I spoke German badly when I lived there, perhaps to ask directions on the street. Back home I never spoke German, very occasionally I tried a little with my mother and father. For example yes and no, just for fun. I was never fluent.
My family advised friends not to visit, because I no longer spoke English. The hospital sent someone to teach me English, which quickly came back. My German has since returned to its pre-coma state, broken. I don’t know many words, I can’t understand German TV.
Medicine calls this language phenomenon foreign accent syndrome, or in cases like mine of total language switching, xenoglossia. There are several stories online. Medicine accept the phenomenon occurs, but remains sceptical about people speaking an unknown foreign language suggesting the brain bypasses the damaged route finding a clearer path in a known second language. There are reported cases of coma victims who wake to speak a previously unknown foreign language. I cannot comment on those accounts, what I can say is I’m told I only spoke German, and much better than before. My entire family knows this. Mum and dad spoke German with me, they all tried to teach me English.
Another documented effect in some cases is the emergence of impossible memories. Recollections of distant places and time periods. Does coma capture evidence of reincarnation?
I’m returning to my former self. My cognition is improving, some memory has returned. My awakening continues, but I remain uncertain. Does identity come from the brain? What is the neurology for the colour red?
Book
Coma provoked dialogue. I have written a book about the experience, exploring consciousness and memory. It’s in the menu, under blog.
Treatment
Getting off institutional drugs was important, they perpetuated my displacement. The most troubling was Olanzapine, primarily used to sedate.
Medicine is really good for cuts and breaks, obvious physical damage, but doesn’t completely understand the nuances of the brain. Sure, we know it controls our body parts, but we don’t understand consciousness, or memory. We have some evidence through MRI scans, but don’t know how the brain constructs the non-material world.
Victims have already been in coma, I tried to avoid drugs and be as natural as possible. I often became frustrated, but realized the most important thing was to relax. What has helped me:
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Writing
In Thailand, a holidaying French nurse mistook me for a stroke victim. Hospital staff thought stroke, another cause of TBI. I think the effects of coma and stroke are quite similar.
This site is reflection, ad hoc posts about TBI can be found in the category coma below. If you are looking for something in particular, there is a search function in the menu.
Indeed, coma is a treacherous landscape. Consciousness is perception and experience, yet we are left asking: where does it come from? By what neurology?
For me, writing has contributed to the reconstruction of self. Feel encouraged to leave a comment at the bottom of any page. My advice to other coma victims is simple; be yourself, however that feels. Respond to life with immediacy, not through a victim’s filter.
Post Categories
Coma
Memory
Belief
General
Reality
Politics
Science
Foreign Language
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Hi Mathew,
thanks for your inspiring sharing.
We had coffee together this morning.
Hope to see u again.
by my experience I think it takes time to develop new pathways in the brain, I suspect the earlier in recovery you try and develop new pathways the better, I think the brain is more malleable in the beginning
My father had an accident and he was in coma for 21 days. He feels pain. If I touch his face, he shakes his body. His right eye opens some time but no other movements. We talk with him everyday and we hope he hears everything. We are waiting for his recovery.
Thanks for your advice Matt.
Willis, there is also a documentary called ‘coma’ which is very accurate, my condition was similar to those in the film apparently, I have written about it he film on this site, clearly I’m not quite as devastated as them but in the beginnings apparently I was that bad…
Dear Willis, I sincerely hope he recovers but I’ve had many people take me for a stroke victim and the brain does take a very long time to develop new pathways for memory and the use of body parts. I was in coma for 3 months then semi conscious state for many more, maybe a year. All I can say is it takes so long for the brains development, I always compare brain TBI to the brain development of a new born. It sounds like he hasn’t been in a deep coma though so perhaps when he becomes conscious again his brain will be like before. I wish him the best and to choose the land of the living, I often wonder if in coma there is something going on in consciousness and we can make efforts there?
Dear Matthew,
Congratulations on your recovery. Your blog and story has been a source of inspiration and comfort as my family deals with my dad’s condition – he’s been in a minimally conscious state since one and a half months ago, following a stroke.
Can I just clarify though – when you said you were in a coma for 3 months, was it actual coma, or semi comatose state (VS, MCS, etc)? I know every person and injury is different, but we’re just trying to understand the length of time needed before patients can possibly begin to recover.
Yours truly
Willis
It’s extremely hard to be what they call rational and logical again, just represent your thoughts as accurately as you can, hopefully others will be able to understand your honesty….
People always take us for normal despite TBI, sounds like you did your best in difficult circumstances, I sincerely hope you got out alive. I don’t think it advisable to explain to people you’ve had TBI, we must live through things we didn’t previously have to, cops aren’t the most understanding of people. Please move past your experiences and try to get your brain independent and free again. I really hope it all turned out acceptably for you and your friends…
TBI is very serious. We are all unique, so are our experiences, I don’t know how to help your son but to say try to focus on the now and future, sure we learn by the past but it has been taken from us. I can only recall dream like things from coma, perhaps nothing, but I feel I had dreams of places I previously lived, maybe I’m overlaying mental activity now. I began to become more normal when I was trusted and no longer treated as a coma victim. Life has changed for us, it’s probably best not to try and live like you did before the accident but accept your change and new reality, perhaps it’s been enhanced. It’s been three years for me and I can’t believe I will ever be normal again, my physics body and memories remain troublesome, I must try to go on. Take his depressions seriously. To be treated and spoken to the same way as you always were in the past might be the best road to recovery. I’m certain he still thinks. Coma is a mental ailment, try to encourage simple mental activity, gradually becoming more complex as you and he deem fit. I am often frustrated by my recovery but it’s an interesting time to be alive, human activity is moving to new heights. I’m assessing my response and trying to think what’s practical in it for you…
1. Work on his mental activity
2. His memory
3. Focus on the future, life is full of opportunities, even for us, it’s all interesting
4. Take his depressions seriously if he talks about them
5. Physiological therapy may also help, it didn’t help me though, I suspect oxygen therapy did…
5. Resume his daily activities like always if possible, just try, understand if you can’t do them anymore maybe tomorrow
6. Consider the people around you and imagine the events in their lives, we all have unique experiences, unfortunately we had an accident
7. Travel, you already have but through the world too to see new and different ways of existence
I am always trying to think of practical things to help people, thanks very much for the opportunity to consider it again. Doctors and medicine know little about the detailed operation of the brain, the non physical stuff like though and emotion. I hope he keeps improving
Mathew, my 19 year old son was in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He has been in a coma for over 15 months. He is gradually improving. At first doctors considered him to be in a deep vegetative state near death. Today he is classified as a moderate to mild coma. We have him at home after eight months in various hospitals. He makes new improvements almost weekly. This week he waved goodbye to his therapists without any coaching. Do you remember being in your coma? If so, how much were you aware of what was going on around you? I talk to my son all the time, tell him what is going on in the world, read to him, let him watch his favorite TV programs. He is very smart and I am so scared he is bored, frustrated because he can’t communicate. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
GM
But hope is the most important thing for you, it sounds really bad his accident and the height he fell from, so many bones to break. Don’t even consider my last reply, I was thinking coma was more his problem, I so hope he recovers and you can again be a family…
Dear Mathew, I want to Thank You for your information and insight into this new world of yours. In July of 2014 my son had a tragic accident at work and fell approx 50 feet through scaffolding and was in a coma, broke 86 bones, lost a kidney, split his Aorta, lots of nerve damage, TBI, and was in the hospital 3 months. He is now age 25 and we moved him home with us, his parents. I quit my job to be his care-taker. All our lives have changed drastically. We live around his schedule of PT, OT, Speech, meds, and dr appointments. It is nice to listen to your perspective so I have a better understanding of things Josh is going thru. Just wanted to say Thanks for your help and knowledge.
Congratulations to Josh on his first major step in recovery, going home. I feel that this was a major step in my recovery, to get off the hospital medication that were often used to control me and make easier work for nurses, olanzapine I think being the worst of it, many studies highlight its negative effects. My family has me on health supplements like brahmi and ginkgo biloba etc.
Secondly I thought my memory the most important thing to address. It would be good if at breakfast you might discuss yesterday with Josh and over time last week, month etc. I tried to remember what I ate last night for dinner, sometimes taking me hours to recall, now it’s probably only minutes, just an exercise for me each day, perhaps you guys can just discuss the previous day at first until memory slowly becomes normal again.