Amelia Bannan, five months pregnant, was hospitalized in a coma after a devastating car crash. Doctors didn’t believe she would wake up again. But something miraculous happened for the most beautiful reason.
34-year-old Amelia Bannan was a police officer from Posadas, Argentina. On November 1, 2016, when she was 5 months pregnant, she was heading to a police course in a patrol car with five other police officers. Everything seemed to be going well until…
Amelia told her companions that she had dreamed about the car rolling over the previous day. Tragically, her premonition came true. The car slid, overturned, and veered off the road. But what did this mean for Amelia and her baby?
No one but Amelia in the car was seriously injured. Her skull was fractured, causing a blood clot in her brain. She was consequently hospitalized in a coma, and doctors feared she would never regain consciousness. But what about the baby?
After the accident, doctors examined Amelia and found her baby was still growing and healthy. Amelia began having contractions at 34 weeks on Christmas Eve 2016, so doctors performed an emergency cesarean section to avoid any potential danger.
Despite still being comatose, Amelia gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. He weighed about 4.17 pounds, a good weight given that he was born at just 34 weeks. Since the baby was born on Christmas Eve, Amelia’s family named him Santino, which means little Saint.
Doctors kept Santino in the hospital for a month to make sure there were no complications. He was growing well, so Amelia’s sister, Norma Bannan, took him home. To help care for Amelia and her son, Norma moved to Posadas with Amelia’s brother, Cesar Bannan.
Although the doctors thought Amelia would never wake up after such a severe injury, Amelia’s family never gave up hope. Every evening, Norma would bring Santino to spend time with Amelia. She even put the baby on her mother’s chest, so he could bond with his mother and feel her warmth. Did these visits work?
Santino had cradled on his mother’s chest for almost 4 months, but Amelia never budged, still unable to speak or move, and seemingly unaware of everything around her. As ever, Norma continued her daily visit. But nothing could have prepared the family for what happened next.
One day in early April 2017, Norma took Santino to see his mom along with Cesar. While they were feeding Santino his milk next to Amelia’s hospital bed, they heard a low voice “Yes, Yes.”
Yes, Amelia finally woke up after a 5-month coma! Her family could hardly believe it. Cesar said in an interview, “To corroborate if she was listening to me, I told her, ‘Amelia, if you understand me, stick out your tongue.’ And she stuck out her tongue.”
The family firmly believed that the baby’s presence helped bring his mother back to consciousness. However, among all the joy and excitement, the family forgot one thing: Amelia gave birth in coma. Would she even know that she had a son?
When Norma brought Santino to Amelia, Amelia thought it was her nephew. She had no idea she had given birth to this cute baby. Cesar and Norma had to explain why the baby was her son.
Once Amelia realized that she had indeed become a mother, she wanted to know her son as much as possible. Norma began to bring Santino to his mother both every morning and every evening.
During one visit, Santino nestled in his mother’s chest. They gradually bonded the way they should have when Santino was born. Cesar documented this beautiful moment and shared it on social media. As Amelia continued to recover and bond with her miracle baby, Cesar uploaded more heartwarming pictures and videos. Their miracle story eventually spread across the world and rocked the world.
At first, Amelia could only say “Yes” or “No” and move very slightly, but eventually, she was able to answer questions and follow instructions. Soon she began turning over in her bed and moving her limbs. Doctors saw her rapid progress and believed she would walk again.
Amelia’s recovery continued with daily exercise with her physiotherapist, speech therapist, and psychologist. Soon, she started to regain her memory and recalled everything except the accident itself. The doctors were astonished to find that the blood clot on her brain had disappeared. But Amelia had one more surprise for everyone!
After a lot of work in therapy, Amelia was able to walk again. She was so strong-willed and courageous that she chose to put her uniform back on.
The family always believed that Santino played a key role in Amelia’s recovery. Despite all the doctors’ medical efforts, it was the daily contact, bond, and love between the two that encouraged Amelia to recover.
