Posted on 06/04/2007 12:33:47 PM PDT by BradtotheBone
A Polish man has woken up from a 19-year coma to find the Communist party no longer in power and food no longer rationed, Polish TV reports. Railway worker Jan Grzebski, 65, fell into a coma after he was hit by a train in 1988.
"Now I see people on the streets with mobile phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin," he told Polish television.
He credits his survival to his wife, Gertruda, who cared for him.
Doctors gave him only two or three years to live after the accident.
A comatose patient is in a profound state of unconsciousness which renders them unaware of both self and the world around them, and from which they cannot be roused.
Although those in a coma do not respond to stimuli in a meaningful way, contrary to popular belief they do not always lie quiet and still - in some cases they can move, open their eyes and even talk.
Fall of communists
"It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it," Mr Grzebski told news channel TVN24 of his recovery.
Mrs Grzebski is reported to have moved her husband every hour to prevent bed sores.
"I cried a lot, and I prayed a lot," Mrs Grzebski said on Polsat television.
"Those who came to see us kept asking: 'When is he going to die?' But he's not dead."
When Mr Grzebski had his accident Poland was still ruled by its last communist leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski.
"When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere," Mr Grzebski said.
The following year's elections ushered in eastern Europe's first post-communist government.
Poland joined the Nato alliance in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
"What amazes me today is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and never stop moaning," said Mr Grzebski.
"I've got nothing to complain about."
An interesting picture of the world under Communist rule. It would be wise of voters to remember this when they vote in their democratic primaries. (hillary)
Man Awakens From 19-Year Coma
Posted by Aquinasfan
On General/Chat 06/04/2007 10:25:46 AM CDT · 24 replies · 332+ views
CBS News ^ | 6/4/2007 | AP
(AP) A railway worker who emerged from a 19-year coma woke to a radically altered Poland and is learning to adapt to his new life, Polish media reported. "I wake up at 7 a.m. and I watch TV," Jan Grzewski, 65, told TVN24 Television over the weekend, smiling slightly as he lay in bed at his home in the northern city of Dzialdowo. "I could not talk or do anything, now it's much better," he said in a weak but clear voice, some two months emerging from his coma. Wojciech Pstragowski, a rehabilitation specialist, said Grzewski was shocked at the...
Man Wakes from 19-year Coma
Posted by Barney Gumble
On General/Chat 06/03/2007 6:48:53 PM CDT · 4 replies · 132+ views
AP ^ | 6/3/07
WARSAW, Poland - A railway worker who emerged from a 19-year coma woke to a radically altered Poland and thinks "the world is prettier now" than it was under communism, his wife said Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT Gertruda Grzebska, 63, said that for years she fed her husband Jan carefully with a spoon and moved his body to prevent bed sores... "He was so amazed to see the colorful streets, the goods," she said. "He says the world is prettier now" than it was 19 years ago, when Poland was still under communist rule. "I could not talk or do anything, now...
Pole wakes up from 19-year coma
Posted by Renfield
On News/Activism 06/03/2007 11:52:33 AM CDT · 21 replies · 631+ views
BBC News ^ | 6-02-07
A Polish man has woken up from a 19-year coma to find the Communist party no longer in power and food no longer rationed, Polish TV reports. Railway worker Jan Grzebski, 65, fell into a coma after he was hit by a train in 1988. "Now I see people on the streets with mobile phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin," he told Polish television. He credits his survival to his wife, Gertruda, who cared for him. Doctors gave him only two or three years to live after the accident. A comatose...
Pole wakes from 19-year coma in democratic country
Posted by Clintonfatigued
On News/Activism 06/02/2007 2:37:19 PM CDT · 27 replies · 789+ views
Yahoo News ^ | June 2, 2007
A 65-year-old railwayman who fell into a coma following an accident in communist Poland regained consciousness 19 years later to find democracy and a market economy, Polish media reported on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT Wheelchair-bound Jan Grzebski, whom doctors had given only two or three years to live following his 1988 accident, credited his caring wife Gertruda with his revival. "It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it," Grzebski told news channel TVN24. "For 19 years Mrs Grzebska did the job of an experienced intensive care team, changing her comatose husband's position every hour to prevent bed-sore infections," Super...
Polish man wakes up to new world after 19 years in coma
Posted by marthemaria
On News/Activism 06/02/2007 10:52:24 AM CDT · 67 replies · 2,392+ views
news.yahoo.com ^
WARSAW (AFP) - A Pole who spent 19 years in a coma has woken up and will now have to adapt to a country where the communists are no longer in power, a television station announced Friday. Railwayman Jan Grzebski fell into a coma after he was hit by a train in 1988, the private channel Polsat said. In an interview, Grzebski said that he owed his survival to his wife, Gertruda. "She's the one who always took care of me. She saved my life," he said. Grzebski was a father of four at the time of the accident. He...
“Now that I’m better, I’m going to take a vacation and visit all three countries that border Poland.”
This is now the sixth posting of this story.
I searched on "coma" and got these threads, in addition to this one:
When I point out duplicate posts, I get accused of being the "posting police". How many duplicates is enough?
Actually, he didn’t wake up after 19 years. He woke up after four years or so and was paralysed the last 15 years.
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