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Man Who Was 'locked' Inside Body For 10 Years Woke Up To Tell Incredible Story
When a then 12-year-old Martin Pistorius returned home from school one day with a sore throat, he'd never expected that he was soon to lose a decade of his life.
The condition that doctors had initially believed was a simple case of the flu quickly developed into something that would put him into a coma.
Pistorius, from South Africa, was diagnosed with both cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, and began receiving treatment for both.
After his body weakened and he lost the ability to speak to speak and move, he was left in a vegetative state - an experience which he discussed in his 2011 book, Ghost Boy.
His parents Joan and Rodney weren't given a conclusive explanation of what had happened to their son but weren't ready to give up on him, keeping him in a care centre.
Speaking to LADbible last year, the now 49-year-old described his coma as like being in 'an empty shell, unaware of anything around me'.
Martin Pistorius in hospital. Credit: Supplied"I was able to hear, see and understand everything around me but I had absolutely no power or control over anything.
"For me, that feeling of complete and utter powerlessness is probably the worst feeling I have ever experienced, and I hope I never have to experience again. It is like you don't exist, every single thing in your life is decided by someone else.
"Everything, from what you wear, to what you eat and drink, even if you eat or drink, to where you will be tomorrow, or next week, and there is nothing you can do about it."
Nobody at the time had realised that Pistorius had regained consciousness and was taking in everything around him.
He even remembered having no choice but to watch reruns of Barney in the special care centre.
Martin and his dad Rodney. Credit: Supplied"I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney," he'd previously declared in an interview with NPR.
His mum Joan also admitted at the time that there were times she struggled to come to terms with her son's condition.
In his memoir, he recalls sitting in his wheelchair one day when his mum said to him: "I hope you die."
The comment affected him and made him feel 'very sad and upset', but he 'understood where that was coming from'.
In order to keep his sanity, he'd use his imagination: "I'd imagine all sorts of things, like being very small and climbing into a spaceship and flying away. Or that my wheelchair would magically transform into a flying vehicle.
"I would sometimes watch things move, whether it be how sunlight moved throughout the day.
"Or watching insects of some sort scurry about, but, really, I lived in my mind to the point where at times I was oblivious to the world around me."
In 2001, when Pistorius was 25, a relief carer at the day centre, Virna van der Walt, encouraged his parents to take him to the Centre For Augmentative And Alternative Communication at the University Of Pretoria.
It was there that a researcher held up a sheet of paper with symbols on it, and he was asked to locate a ball with his eyes.
After finding the shape, he was asked to find the dog.
Martin Pistorius and his wife Joanna. Credit: SuppliedNearly 13 years after he became ill, he was able to reveal that he was conscious and able to communicate.
His parents invested in a computer which was preloaded with communication software - similar to the technology used by the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Pistorius would select letters, words or symbols on the device using a band attached to his head, which would act like a mouse.
Following his recovery, Martin began working with van der Walt in 2003 at the care centre.
He then met the love of his life, Joanna, who worked as a social worker. They got married in 2009 in Essex.
They welcomed a son, Sebastian Albert Pistorius, in 2018 and Pistorius often shares pictures of his family on Instagram.
He now works as a computer scientist and web developer.
Brain Tumor
Brain Tumor Day: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment- Watch VideoSigns and symptoms of brain tumor: Early morning headache, vomiting, nausea, loss of sensation, blurred vision, abnormal movement in hands and legs, fatigue, behavioral changes, difficulty in maintaining balance, speech difficulties, and personality changes are the symptoms of a brain tumor.
What To Know About Genitourinary Tuberculosis
Genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB) is a type of tuberculosis that affects the urinary system, genital organs, or both. It can lead to symptoms such as pain, blood in urine, or increased urinary frequency.
GUTB usually results from an Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the lungs that spreads to the genitourinary tract via the blood.
Treatment usually involves 6 months of antituberculosis medication. The cure rate is around 90%, with early detection and drug compliance.
Keep reading to learn more about GUTB, including the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and outlook.
GUTB is when tuberculosis affects the genitals or urinary tract.
While tuberculosis can affect any organ, it most often involves the lungs, known as pulmonary tuberculosis. However, about 5–45% of cases affect other body parts. Of these, 30–40% involve one or more components of the urinary tract or genitals.
Learn more
Find out more about the genitourinary tract, including:
The microbe that usually leads to GUTB is M. Tuberculosis. However, other bacteria can also cause it. These include:
In rare cases, the tuberculosis vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin can lead to GUTB.
The most frequent cause involves the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis through the blood to the urogenital tract during the initial infection. The infection can remain inactive — or latent — but becomes active if a person develops immune system suppression.
Less commonly, a person can acquire the infection through the lymphatic system — part of the body's immune system — or via sexual transmission.
Risk factorsAside from having a weakened immune system, risk factors that increase the likelihood of a latent GUTB infection becoming active include:
A 2021 review notes that when GUTB affects a kidney, it does not often produce symptoms but can heavily damage the organ. Symptoms generally start when the infection involves the bladder.
These may include:
GUTB can affect the ureter and cause severe narrowing — strictures — that can lead to kidney damage due to obstruction. The ureter is the narrow tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.
Other symptoms may entail an ulcer in the penis or a mass in the scrotum or epididymis in males. They may also include pelvic pain and irregularities in the menstrual cycle in females.
According to a 2021 review, GUTB poses a diagnostic challenge as it can affect any part of the genitourinary system, and symptoms vary broadly.
Diagnostic tools include:
The gold standard for diagnosis entails detecting M. Tuberculosis in body samples, such as:
Options for treating GUTB include:
MedicationsMedications are the usual treatment. This typically consists of a 6-month medication regimen, starting with 2 months of:
Following this, the treatment entails 4 months of rifampicin and isoniazid.
The 2021 review above cites a 2016 case study that discusses the use of corticosteroids. It states that in people with tuberculosis of the urinary tract, strictures of the ureter can deteriorate and cause an obstruction during treatment. Therefore, doctors may prescribe concurrent treatment with the corticosteroid prednisolone (Orapred, Orapred ODT, Prelone). This may help prevent the worsening of a stricture.
SurgeryMore than 50% of people with GUBT need surgery. As the condition can affect individuals differently, there is no standard for the type or timing of surgery.
In instances involving complications of a blockage or narrowing of the ureters, either of two surgical options may be necessary:
In some circumstances — such as in kidney cancer or extensive kidney damage — surgical removal of a kidney may be necessary.
For a person with GUTB and kidney damage, renal transplantation may be an option for those who are receiving or have received antituberculosis therapy.
Is it curable?With early detection and prompt standard medication treatment, the cure rate for GUTB is around 90%.
A 2018 review notes that M. Tuberculosis is usually eradicated within 2 weeks of treatment.
The outlook is excellent with early detection and good adherence to drug treatment. However, relapses occur in 6.3% of cases after an average of 5.3 years following treatment.
Genitourinary tuberculosis occurs when pulmonary tuberculosis travels through the bloodstream to one of the organs in the genitourinary tract.
Symptoms may include urinary frequency, blood in urine, difficulty urinating, and pain in the abdomen.
The gold standard of diagnosis involves detecting M. Tuberculosis in samples, such as blood culture, urine, or a biopsy.
Treatment usually entails a 6-month course of various antituberculosis medications. Surgery is sometimes necessary. The cure rate is around 90%. Although the outlook is excellent if caught early, relapses may still occur.
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