A woman on TikTok went viral after revealing the way she and her boyfriend's medical team realized he was emerging from his coma.
TikToker Kath (@kathhsmithh) shared in a previously posted video that her boyfriend, Ben, had been in a coma for more than a week.
Kath created her now-viral video in response to a comment that said:
"A lot of people think you just *wake up* from a coma, but no it takes quite the process. That's what I thought anyway until it happened to me!"
The TikToker agreed in her caption:
"Right!! Its nothing like what you see in the movies."
She then explained:
"Something that a lot of people don't realize is that there's actually a criteria that in terms of being considered 'awake' from a coma. It's not quite as easy as as you think it would be."
"It's not just like, oh, he moved so therefore he's awake. No."
Kath continued:
"When my boyfriend was in his coma for about 10 days he didn't just lay there."
"He was paralyzed on one side, but the other side, thrashed. We had to literally like tie him down to the bed because he was trying to pull out his tubes and everything."
"You would think, oh, he's obviously awake. He's moving around."
According to the medical team, the movement needed to be "intentional" for him to be considered "awake."
"No, they're [the doctors] like, 'That's just reactive.' Huh? I would hold his hand, he would squeeze my hand and they'd be like that's just reactive."
"It needs to be, like, an intentional movement. Whatever that means."
She then revealed the movement that all present parties agreed was, in fact, intentional.
"Anyways what ended up being an intentional movement is one day I was laying down on him. He started rubbing my back and they're like no that's still reactive."
"But then he put his hand up my shirt and the man, in his coma, undid my bra. I'm not even joking. I just was there, dumbfounded."
"The nurses were like don't move, don't move, don't move."
"They brought the doctor in and the doctor was like, 'I'll claim that as intentional.'"
The TikToker finished:
"That's how we knew Ben was emerging from his coma. This is a literal true story."
"He finds it so embarrassing so I don't know how he's gonna feel about me posting this."
"But I'm like your true nature was in there."
You can watch below.
Despite Ben's embarrassment, viewers of the TikTok found Kath's story both hilarious and endearing.
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
@kathhsmithh/TikTok
According to her TikToks, Kath has been a caregiver to Ben since she was 25 years old.
In one video, she revealed that Ben was hospitalized for four and a half years due to a traumatic brain injury he suffered when he was attacked in London in December, 2018.
We love the love they have for each other...and we love that Ben could show it even in a coma!
@realcopeaganda/X