Reuben is a gifted soccer player and fearless goalie. He was playing for an elite youth soccer team in Atlanta, Georgia, when the unfortunate accident happened. He was kicked in the head by an opponent and went into shock. He stopped breathing multiple times and came in and out of consciousness on the soccer field. His coach said, “I thought I might lose him…”
Reuben was airlifted to a hospital, where he fell into a coma for several days. Reuben’s mother is a high school teacher originally from Nigeria. When Reuben finally woke up, he said to her, ‘I’m hungry’ in Spanish. Reuben’s mother ran out of the room to get help. “A nurse asked me what language does he speak. I said, ‘I speak English. He speaks English. We’re not Spanish-based people.’”
Suddenly Reuben couldn’t speak a lick of English. Instead, Spanish effortlessly flowed out of his mouth. Reuben says he could only speak a few words of Spanish before the accident. He thinks he must have subconsciously picked up the language from his brother, who studied abroad in Spain, and some of his teammates, who are fluent Spanish speakers.
Reuben described speaking Spanish as weird but enjoyable. However, trying to speak his native English made him have a seizure. After a few days, Reuben’s English returned. He can still speak Spanish, but it is beginning to fade.
Reuben is not the only person to have ever woken up with a mysterious language condition. In 2013, an American man woke up in a motel in California speaking Swedish. Unlike Reuben, this was not a new language for him, but he had completely forgotten his native English and all memory of his past life. Equally as baffling is foreign accent syndrome, where people develop a new accent usually after some head trauma. The first case of this dates back to 1941 when a Norwegian woman, who was injured during a bombing, suddenly began speaking in a German accent. Over the years, there have been 62 cases of this condition.
Reuben is back at home now, but he still is getting medical tests and having seizures. A gofundme.com page has been created to help his parents pay for his medical expenses. Reuben hopes to become a professional soccer player one day and can’t wait to get back on the field. His coach says when he comes back he’ll need to wear a helmet.
Read More:
Reuben’s MEDICAL Fund
Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS)
Teen Wakes Up From Coma Speaking Fluent Spanish: ‘It Was Weird’
Reuben is a gifted soccer player. He was playing for a youth soccer team in Atlanta, Georgia when the accident happened. Another player kicked him in the head. Reuben went into shock. He stopped breathing. His coach said, “I thought I might lose him…”
Reuben fell into a coma for several days. Reuben’s mother is a high school teacher from Nigeria. When Reuben finally woke up, he said to her, ‘I’m hungry’ in Spanish. Reuben’s mother ran to get help. “A nurse asked me what language does he speak. I said, ‘I speak English. He speaks English. We’re not Spanish-based people.’”
Suddenly Reuben couldn’t speak a lick of English. Only Spanish came out of his mouth. Reuben says he could only speak a few words of Spanish before the accident. His brother does speak Spanish, and he has Spanish-speaking teammates. He thinks he subconsciously picked up the language from them.
Reuben described speaking Spanish as weird but enjoyable. However, trying to speak his native English made him have a seizure. After a few days, Reuben’s English returned. He can still speak Spanish, but it is beginning to fade.
Reuben is not the only person to have ever woken up with a mysterious language condition. In 2013, an American man woke up speaking Swedish. While he did already know Swedish, he had forgotten his native English and all memory of his past life.
Also strange is people with foreign accent syndrome. These people wake up with a new accent, usually after some head trauma. The first case of this dates back to 1941. A Norwegian woman began speaking in a German accent after an injury. Over the years, there have been 62 cases of this condition.
Reuben is back at home now. He still is getting medical tests and having seizures. Reuben hopes to become a professional soccer player one day. He can’t wait to get back on the field. His coach says he’ll need to wear a helmet.
Teen woke up from coma speaking different language | WSB-TV
Read More:
Reuben’s MEDICAL Fund
Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS)
Teen Wakes Up From Coma Speaking Fluent Spanish: ‘It Was Weird’
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