Elderly Man Wakes From Five-Year Coma, Mentally Stuck as 24-Year-Old

An extraordinary event has taken place in Italy. Luciano D’Adamo, 63, who spent five years in a coma following a car accident, suddenly woke up to a world transformed.

Now, he faces the challenge of adapting to a life full of surprises and unfamiliar technologies.

In March 2019, Luciano was hit by a car and slipped into a coma. For years, his family clung to the hope of a miracle. That miracle occurred in 2024 when Luciano unexpectedly opened his eyes and found himself in a world he could hardly recognize.

The terrible accident erased 39 years of memories with the last thing he remembered being leaving his house in Rome in 1980, before feeling a blow and seeing darkness.

One of the first shocks was seeing his own reflection in the mirror. In his mind, he was still a 24-year-old man, but the face looking back at him was unrecognizable.

Meeting his wife added to the confusion—he expected to see his 19-year-old bride but was instead greeted by an “elderly stranger,” the woman he had spent decades with.

Upon waking, Luciano’s first instinct was to ask for a phone to call his mother. He was stunned when he was handed a modern smartphone, and his shock only deepened when he learned that his mother had passed away years ago.

“I couldn’t believe so much time had gone by,” he said, sharing his bewilderment.

The rapid advancements in 21st-century technology left him in awe. He marveled at GPS navigation, watching in amazement as a map of Rome appeared on the screen, guiding him with spoken directions.

“I still remember the astonishment I felt when I heard the voice say, ‘Turn right in 100 metres,’” Luciano recalls.

Since waking up, Luciano has found it easier to connect with children than adults. Although he tries to embrace his role as a grandfather, inside he still feels like a young man.

A lifelong fan of Roma, Luciano was surprised to realize he had forgotten all about the football club after his coma. The only memory that resurfaced was the name tag on the crib of his first grandson, born in 2014. This small detail became a faint link to his past, though much of his memory has yet to return.