Man wakes from 48-day coma and asks for Taco Bell
Jake Booth awoke from a 48-day coma and immediately asked his relieved family members for some Taco Bell.
Booth's brother, Jason Schwartz, told Inside Edition that the entire journey began in February, when he was hospitalized following a complication with pneumonia.
After his heart stopped for 15 minutes, Booth was put in a medically induced coma, but family members were concerned when the Fort Myers man didn’t wake up, even after they eased him from the medication.
"They said unplug him, stop feeding him, stop watering him," Schwartz said. "[His wife] never gave up. She said, 'Absolutely not.'"
Finally, 48 days later, Booth began opening his eyes.
The next shock to the family was when his first words were, “I want Taco Bell.”
“I didn’t even know that he liked Taco Bell,” Schwartz, 42, said. “Turns out, that was the only thing he wanted.”
Because he had feeding tubes in his throat, and had not swallowed in months, doctors and nurses were hesitant to give him water, let alone tacos.
So they worked up to the challenge. Schwartz said they started with apple sauce and custard, while monitoring his swallowing and digestion throughout.
About three weeks later, after Schwartz said he strongly suggested to the nurse that his younger brother passed his swallow test, Booth was awarded his prize for all the hard work.
“It’s taco time,” Schwartz said on the big day.
His friends gathered around, and watched the man valiantly devour eight and a half tacos in one sitting.
Booth has months of rehab ahead of him. The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs.
See the video on InsideEdition.com