Reuben Nsemoh, son of Dora and Emmanuel Nsemoh, was the goalkeeper for their National League soccer team. During a game, a player kicked the 16-year-old goalie from Brookwood High School (Snellville, Georgia.) in the head when he dived for the ball. This collision caused him to go into shock with a severe concussion. The accident was serious enough that Reuben had to be airlifted off the field to an Atlanta hospital where he spent over a week in ICU.
When Reuben Nsemoh woke up from a three-day coma in ICU, he was speaking fluent Spanish instead of English. He had never spoken the language before.
The first thing he said after he motioned for food was:
“Tengo hambre,” which means “I am hungry” in Spanish.
His mother was shocked. She said:
“I was very shocked. That’s something he’s never done before. When he got up and he started speaking Spanish, I was confused”.
Reuben said he has a lot of Spanish-speaking friends, who speak the language when he is around. He believes this might have had something to do with the strange episode that shocked and confused his parents.