Massachusetts man who spent 9 months in coma “fully aware” now healing, hosting podcast

By Mike Sullivan

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    Massachusetts (WBZ) — A new podcast details the terrifying experience of a Bostonian who spent more than nine months completely coherent but trapped in what doctors believed to be a vegetative state. He could hear and process everything going on around him, but he could not say or do anything about it. Somehow, he was able to pull out of it. The horrifying situation is the result of a rare illness.

In 2017, Jake Haendel was doing well. He was an executive chef and was newly married. Around Memorial Day of that year, his voice began to change, and his balance became off.

“When I walked, I would reach out to the walls to hold them for balance,” said Haendel.

Acute toxic leukoencephalopathy An MRI showed he had a rare illness called acute toxic leukoencephalopathy.

“I inhaled something toxic, and it caused a disease in the white matter in my brain. They gave me six months to live,” explains Haendel.

Jake had addiction problems that began in high school. It eventually led to the use of opioids.

“Because I was honest with them and my substance abuse, it was attributed to freebasing heroin off tinfoil,” said Haendel.

He was told he would eventually lose the ability to walk, eat, swallow and talk.

“No one has ever survived stage four of this,” said Haendel.

After five months, he slipped into what was thought to be a vegetative state.

“I could hear and feel” “The coma was not a coma because I was fully aware of where I was. I knew who I was, knew where I was. I could hear. I could feel,” explains Haendel. “I overhead doctors talking to my now ex-wife about how it was time to withdraw life support.”

He couldn’t move, point, or even cry for help. Every time he tried to do something, nothing would move. He was stuck staring at the ceiling lights 24-hours a day for nine months and three weeks. He could also feel immense pain the entire time.

“You’re just hearing your dad saying his, ‘goodbyes’ and you just want to put them at ease,” said Haendel.

Doctors say he would count to 1,000 just to bide the time. Then 1,000 became his one opportunity to get free.

“I hear someone say he is moving something. I am like, ‘Oh my God this is my chance to get out of here!'” said Haendel.

He was able to twitch his wrist. The doctor told him to do it again.

“Imagine bench pressing something impossible like 800 pounds, and that is what I am trying to do,” said Haendel.

Communicating through blinking Somehow, he made another movement which prompted the doctor to bring in a non-verbal coach to teach him to blink.

“Then it was like blink if you know where you are. Blink if you are hot,” explains Haendel.

“Neurologists and brain injury docs like me are scratching our heads when it comes to Jake,” said Dr. Ron Hirschberg, one of Haendel’s consultants during his rehabilitation. “There was something about the motor pathways that reconnected. It’s hard to know where in the brain that happened.”

He progressed through non-verbal communication, and eventually began saying his first words.

“We worked for months on that, and it was ‘I love you,'” smiled Haendel.

Now years later, he is living a new life in Boston. He is able to live on his own walking, talking, and eating. Those are three actions he was told he would never do again.

“Now it’s all about, what do I really want out of my remainder time?” said Haendel.

He recently started a podcast called Blink. It’s an in-depth telling of his story. He hopes to inspire others.

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