Riyadh: Fares Abu Batin, a Saudi man, who has been in a coma for four years, woke up to a world transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and societal changes in his homeland.
In his first interview with Al Arabiya TV since coming out of a coma, Abu Batin spoke about the changes he went through after regaining consciousness.
Fares’ story began in September 2019 when he and his two brothers were involved in a car accident outside Riyadh.
While two of the brothers did not survive, Fares had a 9 percent chance of survival and fell into a coma. He was in this state until March 20, 2023.
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One of the most unexpected was the news of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he had never heard of and found hard to believe.
“People told me about COVID-19 or something called the corona pandemic, and I didn’t understand it and saw videos on YouTube,” he said during an interview with Al Arabiya TV.
Fares was also happy to see that during his absence, his wife had been able to find work and raise her children herself.
Abu Batin became aware of his surroundings and noticed great societal and urban changes.
He expressed his happiness at the progress being made in Saudi Arabia, including the country’s first astronauts, Ali Al Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.