Teen emerges from coma months after attack
Teen Emerges from coma months after attack - The Toronto Star - Friday, October 1, 1999
by Kelly Hudson - York Region Bureau
A 15-year old Newmarket youth, viciously beaten into a coma three months ago, is alert and conscious.
And just yesterday morning, Jonathan Wamback told his parents:"I will walk next".
"i have never been better," the teen's father, Joseph Wamback, said in an emotional telephone interview yesterday. "We are on
top of the world. My wife and I have gone through hell and back. This is as close to a miracle as you could possibly get."
Jonathan spend 16 days on life support and nearly 90 days in a coma after he was attacked on June 29.
He had just finished Grade 9 at Newmarket High School and was looking forward to a summer of playing golf and working at odd
jobs, when he was severely beaten about the head by three youths in Ken Sturgeon Park.
His alleged attackers, who were 16 and 17 years old, have been charged with attempted murder. They are out on bail, and are
due back in court next week for a pre-trial hearing.
After months of uncertainty, Jonathan really started to improve last week when he spoke for the first time.
He said: 'Hi Dad.'It's like Christmas every morning we wake up, because there's something new each day" said Wamback, 53. "He
knows who we are. He's awake now, looking at us, recognizing us. His memory is better than mine."
Although Jonathan is still partially paralyzed and can't swallow, his mind is alert. He remembers phone numbers and names, and
he's thirsty for more knowledge, his father said.
A few nights ago, Wamback quizzed his son, asking him questions about geography and history. After 45 minutes, Wamback said,
"the sum total of my knowledge was spent. Jonathan wanted me to ask him another question."
The boys motto, one he repeats over and over to his parents and his physiotherapist during painful exercises, is "I can do it.
Nothing stops me."
Benefit in son's honour raised $11,000 for rehabilitation
Jonathan's family doctor is amazed by the turnaround. The last time Dr. Margaret Bugdahn saw the injured teen was about two
weeks ago. He was still in a coma, unresponsive , suffering from muscle tremors.
When she walked into his room at the Bloorview MacMillan Rehabilitation Centre two nights ago, he said: "Hi, Dr. Bugdahn."
He recognized me. He can move his right arm and right leg a little. He lifted his right arm in an awkward way and did a
thumbs-up, said the physician, who has had Jonathan as a patient since he was an infant. "It just makes me feel wonderful."
Despite the many positive improvements, his road to recovery is still uphill, Wamback said. Jonathan will probably remain at
the rehab centre for at least nine more months.
His parents will have some help with the expenses, after a benefit held in their son's honour last weekend raised $11,000 for
his rehabilitation.
Until the attack, Jonathan, who was an accomplished artist, was earning a bit of money by cutting grass and babysitting.
But every spare moment he had, he golfed. With a handicap of 9 or 10, he was supposed to compete in some junior tournaments
this summer.
He'll golf again, his father predicts. "Right now, he's a right-handed golfer. He may end up being left-handed, but we know
he'll swing a club again someday."
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