In 2017, Jacob Haendel was living a normal life as a head chef in…
A paralysed man who had an extreme form of locked-in syndrome and heard a nurse say he was “brain dead” has become the first ever to recover after hearing medical professionals debating whether or not to switch off his life support.
In 2017, Jacob Haendel was living a normal life as a head chef in Boston, Massachusetts but in the space of a few weeks, his life was turned upside down after he was diagnosed with acute toxic progressive leukoencephalopathy, which progressed into locked-in syndrome and forced his body would slowly shut down. An extreme form of locked-in syndrome is a condition where a patient is aware but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis and can be caused by brain trauma, infection or exposure to toxins.
It is not known exactly how Jacob developed the condition, though he says his life as a chef consuming certain chemicals “wilfully and otherwise” may have been a factor. He ended up paralysed, unable to talk or blink within a few months and, could hear hospital staff deliberating over switching off machines.
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