|
 Joseph Flavill, 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was
hit by the car in the central English town of Burton-on-Trent on
March 1 last year, about three weeks before a first national
lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
During that time his family has been largely unable to be near him
and hold his hand due to coronavirus restrictions, mostly trying to
communicate with him via video link.
"Recently Joseph has started to show small signs of recovery, which
we are thrilled about... We know now he can hear us, he responds to
small commands," his aunt, Sally Flavill, told Reuters.
"When we say to him 'Joseph, we can't be with you, but you are safe,
this is not going to be forever', he understands, he hears you, he
just can't communicate," she said, adding that he now signalled
'yes' with a blink and 'no' with two blinks.
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 Since Joseph's accident,
Britain has registered nearly four million
COVID-19 cases, including more than 110,000
deaths, in a pandemic that has turned life
upside down worldwide, shuttering schools,
universities, shops and many other places.
"I don't know how Joseph will ever understand
our stories of this lockdown," his aunt said,
adding that he was still very ill and faced a
"very, very long journey" back to some kind of
normal life.
Joseph, who before the accident was a keen
sportsman, is now receiving treatment at a care
centre in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, and
his family has started a fund-raising campaign
https://www.josephsjourney.co.uk to help support
his long-term recovery.
(Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by
Gareth Jones; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
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