Dec. 17, 2013 Tuesday

Boy was in a coma - level 3

For the first time in months, Ryan Smith is out of bed and moving around.

He had been in a coma since being knocked off his bike by a van in July, and doctors warned his family he might not survive.

But, in what his parents have called a miracle, he has now opened his eyes, and is taking the first steps on the road to recovery.

“Ryan is defying all the odds and all the prognosis and continues to make small snippets of improvement every day. He’s got a long road ahead of him, but I’m still remaining cautiously optimistic, but more optimistic than pessimistic nowadays.”

The sixteen-year-old was on his way to his summer job when he was hit. He had left his helmet at home so as not to spoil his hairstyle.

It has been a long wait for the family, who’ve spent every day at his side since the accident. After waking up, his first words were “hello,” “dad” and “mum.”

“You could peel me off the ceiling after that, or knock me down with a feather. I finally knew what it was like to cry for joy.”

Difficult words: defy (refuse to obey), defy all the odds (accomplish something seemingly improbable), prognosis (doctor’s opinion of how an illness will develop), snippet (small piece), cautiously optimistic (being realistically optimistic), peel somebody off the ceiling (put somebody’s feet back on the ground), knocked me down with a feather (I was extremely surprised).