A woman from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who was seriously
injured in a traffic accident in 1991 has made a seemingly miraculous recovery
after emerging from a 27-year-long coma.
Munira Abdulla, who
was aged 32 at the time of the accident, suffered a severe brain injury after
the car she was travelling in collided with a bus on the way to pick up her son
from school.
Omar Webair, who was
then just four years old, was sitting in the back of the vehicle with her, but
was left unscathed as his mother cradled him in her arms moments before the
accident.
Ms Abdulla - who was
being driven by her brother-in-law - was left seriously injured, but last year
regained consciousness in a German hospital.
Omar has opened up
about the accident and about his mother's progress following years of treatment
in an interview with the UAE-based newspaper The National.
"I never gave up on her because
I always had a feeling that one day she would wake up," Omar told
the newspaper on Monday.
"The reason I
shared her story is to tell people not to lose hope on their loved ones; don't
consider them dead when they are in such a state," he added.
"My mother was
sitting with me in the back seat. When she saw the crash coming, she hugged me
to protect me from the blow."
He was unharmed,
suffering just a bruise to the head, but his mother was left untreated for
hours.
Ms Abdulla was
eventually taken to hospital, and later transferred to London. There, she was
declared to be in a vegetative state - unresponsive, but able to sense pain -
The National reports.
She was then
returned to Al Ain, a city in the UAE on the border with Oman where she lived,
and moved to various medical facilities according to insurance requirements.
She remained there
for a few years, fed through a tube and kept alive. She underwent physiotherapy
to ensure her muscles would not weaken through lack of movement.
In 2017, the family
was offered a grant by the Crown Prince Court, a government body in Abu Dhabi,
for Ms Abdulla to be transferred to Germany.
There, she underwent
a number of surgeries to correct her severely shortened arm and leg muscles,
and she was given medication to improve her state, including her wakefulness.
A year later, her
son was involved in an argument in her hospital room, which seemed to prompt
his mother to stir.
"There was a
misunderstanding in the hospital room and she sensed I was at risk, which
caused her a shock," Omar said.
"She was making
strange sounds and I kept calling the doctors to examine her, they said
everything was normal.
"Then, three
days later, I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name.
"It was her!
She was calling my name, I was flying with joy; for years I have dreamt of this
moment, and my name was the first word she said."
She became more
responsive, and can now feel pain and have some conversations.
She has returned to
Abu Dhabi, where she is undergoing physiotherapy and further rehabilitation -
mainly to improve her posture when sitting and prevent muscles from
contracting.