Teen Stuns Family After Waking From Coma Speaking Only Spanish

Though Reuben’s experience may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, it’s actually more common than some might realize.

Discussing a case of a Croatian girl who woke from a coma speaking German instead of her native language in 2013, neurolinguist Michel Paradis of McGill University in Montreal told Discovery News, “This has been observed thousands of times.”

What is impossible, Paradis noted, is someone suddenly speaking a language they didn’t know a word of before.

Because languages are often stored in different areas of the brain, Paradis explained, brain injuries can interfere with the ability to speak one of them, but not another. Once brain swelling goes down, people usually recover the ability to speak their native language, he said.

As for Reuben, the teen’s friends have started an online fundraiser to help pay off his medical bills. Once he’s fully healed, he looks forward to returning to his favorite sport ? though his coach insists he’ll have to wear a helmet.

“Why not start using it in practice and in the games?” Reuben’s coach, Bruno Kalonji, told WSB-TV, advocating use of the safety gear. “Everybody is waiting for that big [injury] before they start wearing the mask. We should try to prevent these things from happening earlier.”