A US Gulf War veteran who was set to die in an Arizona hospital in a controversial euthanasia case regained complete consciousness on Tuesday.
A decision to pull the feeding tubes from Jesse Ramirez, 36, on 8 June had been reversed after a court case by his family members. The move has paid off now that the man is responding and is set to move to a rehabilitation centre.
"We have had a lot of miracles," said Betty Valenzuela, Ramirez's aunt, in the Arizona Republic. "He would have been gone."
On 30 May, Mr Ramirez was involved in a serious car accident in which he suffered multiple injuries and fell into a comatose state. He was put on feeding tubes through which he received nourishment and water.
Ten days later, the man's wife, Rebecca, 33, asked doctors to pull his feeding tubes after they explained that the accident would probably leave Mr Ramirez blind or in a vegetative state.
For five days, the hospital withheld sustenance from the injured man, but restored the tubes after the Alliance Defence Fund - an Arizona-based Christian law firm - filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr Ramirez's other family members.
On Tuesday, a settlement was reached in which all decision-making for the patient moved from wife Rebecca to a court-appointed guardian. Mr Ramirez will also be moved to a rehabilitation centre.
Mr Ramirez has now regained many of his faculties, including hugging and kissing, nodding his head, responding to voice commands, and knowing his own and his family's identity.
