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English-Speaking Keeper Suffers Concussion-Induced Coma, Wakes Up Fluent In Spanish

16-year-old high school goalkeeper Reuben Nsemoh underwent a terrifying ordeal as a result of a concussion he suffered while playing soccer.

The sophomore ended up in a coma after being kicked in the head during a game. Check out the footage below.

 

Having been knocked unconscious, incapable of breathing and ultimately hospitalized for several days, Nsemoh’s eventual return to consciousness was a huge relief. When he did wake up, Nsemoh’s life had undergone another strange shift: he could only speak fluent Spanish.

According to CNN, Nsemoh could only previously speak a little Spanish, but awoke with a native’s fluency in the language. The cause is a rare condition known as foreign accent syndrome, the result of a brain injury that changes a person’s speech patterns.

 

There have only been a few dozen reported cases of the syndrome. According to Nsemoh’s interview with WSB-TV, the teenager is still struggling with the symptoms of his injury, but he hopes to return to action as soon as he’s cleared to play. 

As he recovers from the injury, his fluency in Spanish is seemingly fading away although Nsemoh is continuing to speak Spanish quite a bit.

Unfortunately for Reuben and his family, his medical bill from the incident is over $20,000. If you’d like to help out in any way, there’s a GoFundMe page setup to help pay for the bills and insurance deductibles: Reuben's GoFundMe

(H/T: CNN)

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