Contributed by: filbert Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 11:24 AM CST
“His skull was completely crushed and he was left for dead,” his mother told reporters in a telephone briefing.
He spent the next five years in a nursing home with no hope of recovery. He would occasionally mouth the word yes or no, but could not communicate reliably or eat on his own.
His parents agreed to try the experimental treatment in August 2005, and doctors saw immediate results.
He was alert and could move his head to follow voices.
He can now drink from a cup, recall and speak 16 words, and watch a movie.
Rezai said he is engaged with his family, playing cards with his mother and taking short trips outside the facility.
They implanted a device in the brain and provide small electric pulses for 12 hours a day, something called “deep brain stimulation. Truly remarkable and amazing.