Woman makes miraculous recovery from vegetative state, performs concert

BURSA

Following two decades of treatment and her mother’s undying support, a 39-year-old woman who lapsed into a vegetative state has recently given a concert, making a miraculous recovery and becoming a source of inspiration for many.

Neslihan Köse was applauded for minutes by spectators in a jampacked hall after she finished her Turkish classical music performance late on Dec. 6 in the northwestern province of Bursa.

It was the year 2001 when Köse, a 19-year-old university student at the time, became a victim of an unfortunate incident. While she was in the shower, she got intoxicated by carbon monoxide and was found motionless lying on the floor by her mother, Hale Kabacaoğlu.

She was in a vegetative state when she was transferred to various hospitals in Bursa, Istanbul and Ankara with ambulances.

“Nearly all her brain cells are dead,” the doctors who checked Köse told her mother, preparing for organ transplantations in case she dies.

Kabacaoğlu, who is a radiology specialist, dedicated all her time to her daughter after her divorce. She ardently read books and played Mozart’s classics to her daughter and used to sleep by her side so that she doesn’t accidentally fall from the bed.

After months, Köse woke up from the vegetative state, but with an erased memory.

Kabacaoğlu took care of her daughter as a baby, diapering, cleaning and feeding her for three years. Years after two stem cell transplantations and treatments in Brazil, Austria and South Korea, Köse came to stand on her own feet.

The next was the second phase of the treatment: Education. Kabacaoğlu taught her how to read and write again and labeled each object such as toothpaste, towels and mirrors to help her remember them.

She then enrolled Köse into a Turkish classical music chorus, formed to rehab disabled people, in Bursa, two months ago.

On late Dec. 6, Köse took the stage with the chorus for an hour. The concert finished with her solo performance of the famous Turkish song, “Yıldızların Altında,” (Under the Stars).

“I am so happy. It all happened with the help of my mother,” Köse said after the concert, thanking her mother.

“Neslihan got out of the grave and came to this level. What a performance she made,” the proud mother said with tears of happiness in her eyes.

“For someone with an erased memory, even remembering the lyrics of a song is a miracle,” highlighted Rüştü Şentürk, the choirmaster.