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Teen Woke Up From A Coma And Was Shocked To Find He Can Only Speak Spanish

by Robert Anthony
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A 16-year-old was put into a coma after accidentally being kicked in the head while playing soccer.

Last month, Reuben Nsemoh from Georgia had been diving for the ball while playing goalie during a game of soccer. That's when he was accidentally kicked in the head by a fellow athlete.

Now, Nsemoh's family is expressing how much their lives have changed after the high school sophomore woke up from the coma only being able to speak in an entirely different language: Spanish.

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Reuben's mother Dorah Nsemoh spoke to ABC affiliate WSB-TV, saying,

Our life has changed through this process.

According to Huffington Post, Reuben's English has since returned for the most part. However, there was a period of time following his coma that he was only able to speak Spanish.

The report states that Reuben was familiar with the language because of his friends and his brother who speak Spanish fluently. Still, he wasn't particularly comfortable having conversations in Spanish prior to his injury.

The teen told WSB reporters,

I wasn't perfect, but my brother is a really fluent Spanish speaker, so he kind of inspired me with that too.

Shortly after he woke up from his coma, Reuben's English slowly returned. Now, imagine living through a freak accident only to wake up from a coma fluently speaking a language you're usually not good at...

Yeah -- that's SUPER weird, but it's actually quite common, according to neurolinguistics professor Dr. Michel Paradis who spoke to the Huffington Post, revealing,

For a number of complex reasons, such individuals may recover either both languages to the same extent, one better than the other, or only one of the two. These effects are either temporary or permanent ― again depending on a number of factors.

While it's definitely scary to think about, it's good to hear that Reuben Nsemoh will be fine following the frightening injury. As a matter of fact, Reuben will try his hardest to return to the soccer field.

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In the meantime, as he heals, his friends and family have started a GoFundMe account to help raise money to pay off his medical bills.

Get well soon, Reuben!

Check out the news clip above for a closer look.

Citations: Teen Stuns Family After Waking From Coma Speaking Only Spanish (Huffington Post)