Man in coma heard everything

Mother recalls son waking as best Christmas gift

Supporters of the father of car accident victim Eluana Englaro hold an Italian flag with a hole cut in the middle during a demonstration outside the Senate building in Rome Feb. 9. Englaro, who had been in a persistent vegetative state for 17 years, died Feb. 9 after her father won a court battle to take her off food and water. CNS photo / Chris Helgren, Reuters.

Catholic News Agency has a story about a young Italian man named Maximiliano Tresoldi, who after spending 10 years in a comatose state woke up on Christmas Day, 2000, to dry the tears of his mother, Lucrecia.

Max was only 20 years old when he was injured in a car accident on Aug. 15, 1991. Left in a coma, he was diagnosed by doctors as paralyzed "with no chance of recovery," she said. When he awoke, Max said he was aware of everything during his coma; he even knew the exchange rate between the Italian lira and the euro.

Lucrecia noted that Max was born Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, and his car accident happened Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption.

Max's entire story is in a new book entitled, "E adeso vado al Max," which Lucrecia co-wrote with Italian journalists Lucia Bellaspiga and Pino Ciociola. The book received the 2012 Woman in Life literary award.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.