Martin Pistorius Hated Barney

After falling ill in South Africa at age 12 in the late 1980s, Martin Pistorius slipped into a vegetative state, though he later said he gradually became aware again while still trapped inside his body. During those years at a special care center, he was forced to sit through endless reruns of "Barney & Friends," and he later said he hated them. He used that hatred, along with other small mental routines, to hold on to some sense of control while he slowly recovered awareness.

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