Munira Abdulla, who was aged 32 at the time of her accident, suffered a severe brain injury after the car she was travelling in collided with a bus on the way home from picking up her son from school. Omar Webair, who was then just four years old, was sitting in the back of the vehicle with her, but was left untouched as his mother cradled him in her arms moments before the accident.

Omar has recently opened up about the accident and about his mother’s process throughout the years. “The reason I shared her story is to tell people not to lose hope on their loved ones; don’t consider them dead when they are in such a state,” he told the UAE-based newspaper The National. Omar was unharmed, suffering a bruise to the head, but his mother was left untreated for hours.

Munira Abdulla was eventually taken to hospital, and later transferred to London. There, she was declared to be in a vegetative state – unresponsive, but able to sense pain. She then was transferred to Al Ain, a city in the UAE and due to insurance requirements, she was moved to various medical facilities. She was fed through a tube and underwent physiotherapy to ensure her muscles would not weaken through lack of movement.

In 2017, the family was offered a grant by the Crown Prince Court, a government body in Abu Dhabi, for Ms. Abdulla to be transferred to Germany. There, she underwent a number of surgeries to correct her severely shortened arm and leg muscles, and she was given medication to improve her state.

A year later, her son was involved in an argument in her hospital room, which seemed to prompt his mother to stir. “There was a misunderstanding in the hospital room and she sensed I was at risk, which caused her a shock. She was making strange sounds and I kept calling the doctors to examine her, they said everything was normal. Then, three days later, I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name,” Omar stated.  She became more responsive, and can now feel pain and have some conversations.

“It was her! She was calling my name, I was flying with joy; for years I have dreamt of this moment, and my name was the first word she said.” She has returned to Abu Dhabi, where she is undergoing physiotherapy and further rehabilitation – mainly to improve her posture when sitting and prevent muscles from contracting.