A Real 'Goodbye Lenin' Story in Warsaw

Jan Grzebski was a little shocked after recently waking from his 19 year coma.

"It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it," Grzebski told news channel TVN24.

"For 19 years Mrs. Grzebska did the job of an experienced intensive care team, changing her comatose husband's position every hour to prevent bed-sore infections," Super Express reported Dr. Boguslaw Poniatowski as saying.

"When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol lines were everywhere," Grzebski told TVN24 about his recollections of the former faltering communist economy.

"Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin."

Jan has 4 children who are married and have a total of 11 grandchildren between them.
The wheelchair-bound 65 year old was a railway worker at the time of his accident and missed Poland's shock transition to a market economy. It'll be interesting to hear an extensive interview with Jan about his memories of the former regime in Poland. In any case, it's a rare piece of international news from Poland which inspires hope in the patience and dedication of caring for those in long-term comas.