Vanja (43) was rushed to the hospital due to his health situation. Only a few hours after he was admitted, hospital staff found him on the toilet floor. A fig he was eating had gotten stuck in his throat and at that moment, his brain ran out of oxygen, resulting in a coma. The idyllic life of the Gudac family collapsed like a tower of cards in just a few seconds, as announced on Nova TV’s supplement.

The first 15 days of Vanja’s state in the coma were terrifying for his mother Vera Gudac and family. Doctors kept telling them that he would not survive, but after that they asked when they could take him home. “It’s like a piece of furniture,” said Vera Gudac.

Vanja responds best to music, videos, and audio messages. For his mother, the biggest reward is a wink and a handshake. However, the institutions have given up on Vanja, and Vera does not want it. “I don’t want it,” she said.

Every video or picture that Vanja gets is considered soul food for him and gives him hope for a better tomorrow, according to his cousin Vlado Naglić. “I would like to ask everyone who has heard Vanja’s story to send us a message if they can,” said Popović Naglić. “It can be reading a story or just a greeting.” Vanja responds well to this stimulation, which is all they can give him now.

Dnevnik Nova TV reporter Domagoj Mikić talked with Marina Raguž about Vanja’s case and how messages can stimulate the brain of patients who are in comas or deep vegetative states. Raguž confirmed that messages can be helpful for such patients and encouraged families to talk to them, play music for them, and stimulate them in any way possible because there is no guarantee that this will help stimulate their brain fully