Teenagers “slept through” the pandemic and their own Covid disease

Source: WORLD

Read the transcript of the video here:

“Joe was out and about in a traffic accident.

He was a pedestrian and was hit by a car resulting in his injury, a severe traumatic brain injury.

He has been in a coma ever since.

Joseph was in severe pain and all of his muscles were cramped.

He had a tracheoscopy (windpipe examination) that went crooked, resulting in pneumonia, so he was very ill at the time.

And then on top of everything else, he also got Covid.

That was the first time Joe got Covid.

Since then he has had it again, but we were very worried at the time. "

Before his accident, Joseph Flavill was a passionate athlete.

“He lived for the sport, he was always in the gym, he played golf and hockey at Burton Hockey Club, he was so good that he started playing for the elderly when he was 18.

He loved cricket, he loved to surf.

He was just a very, very active guy.

He had just completed his D of E gold (Duke of Edinburgh Award).

He was an energetic, sporty young man who was always outside. "

In late 2020, Joseph woke up from his coma.

Communication is still difficult.

“Now Joseph can hear us, we know he hears us because he responds to small instructions.

Now let's talk to him about the pandemic.

One hour a day via Face Time is allowed.

Sharon, Joseph's mother, says to Joseph, 'I really would love to be with you, darling.

I'm sorry, I want to come and hold your hand.

Have no fear.'

Because Joseph realizes that he has woken up and that he has none of his loved ones around him.

One of the most important things to a coma patient is that they have the stimulation of familiar sounds and familiar voices and they don't.

He only has the screen on which we can dial in and try to calm him down. "

The UK has recorded nearly four million Covid-19 cases since Joseph's accident.

More than 110,000 people died from the virus.

The pandemic is having a severe impact on the economy and social life worldwide.

Joseph's family now wonders how they can make him understand all of this.

“I don't know how Joseph will ever understand our stories about the lockdown.

I honestly don't know.

When we launched the Joseph's Journey website in May, it was a place where we could share memories and communicate with Joseph.

We shot a video and Sharon, Joseph's mother, came and said at the end, 'Joseph won't believe our stories in which rainbows became a sign of hope' and I don't know where or how to explain the world to Joseph he woke up. "

Joseph is still very sick.

A lengthy rehabilitation phase lies ahead of him.

In order to be able to finance his recovery, the family has now started a fundraising campaign.