In his book "Ghost Boy," Martin Pistorius of South Africa tells his story about the things he remembers from being in a coma for 12 years, one of which was his mother hoping he dies.
Pistorius was only 12 years old in the late 1980s when he fell into a coma. He remained in a vegetative state until her turned 24.
While they were not sure what caused his rare illness, the doctors suspect it was cryptococcal meningitis, WREG reported.
Pistorius' condition progressively worsened until he became unable to move by himself, make eye contact and speak. The doctors told his parents, Rodney and Joan Pistorius, to take him home and keep him comfortable until his death.
But Pistorius, now 39 and living with his wife in Harlow, England, did not die. His mother told her son just kept going.
According to Pistorius, he started to wake up when he was 14 or 15 years old and just like any normal person, he was aware of everything.
"Yes, I was there, not from the very beginning, but about two years into my vegetative state, I began to wake up," Pistorius told NPR.
Among the things Pistorius remembers from the days he was in a vegetative state was when his mother told him, "I hope you die."
While that made him feel no one would ever love him, Pistorius said he eventually learned to related to his grieving mother, who admitted having said those words and said it was a "horrible thing to say" and she "just wanted some sort of relief."
For Pistorius, he understands his mother's desperation each time she looked at him at the time, which was "a cruel parody of the once-healthy child she had loved so much."