EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. – An East Grand Forks man is finally home after months of precarious situations that left his family and medical staff wondering if he would ever leave the hospital.
Gabriel Soto, 47, was in a coma in the hospital from May 15 until he woke up months later on July 14, his birthday.
“I don’t remember anything,” Soto said.
As Soto packed his things to return home from Vibra Hospital at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, many things were going through his mind, including the days when few thought he would leave the facility alive.
Eventually, he spent much of the spring and summer in a coma due to complex medical problems.
“I don’t know, just sudden clarity. I think Jesus just wanted me to get out of there, it was just unbelievable,” Soto said.
Vibra nurses and staff were overjoyed to see Soto go and wheeled him through the halls of Vibra on Friday, August 23, so he could begin the journey home to East Grand Forks with his family.
“This is really not just a success story, this is a miracle. We did not expect this result and it touched all of us very much. When he woke up, he woke up just like that. He was clear and strong and sitting on the edge of the bed. He was on a ventilator and could not speak to us or respond to us because of his medical condition,” said Bonnie Vangerud, chief medical officer at Vibra.
Soto, a huge football fan, is looking forward to the fall and maybe even being able to work as a project painter again. He also has a new outlook on life.
“Enjoy every day you have on this planet,” Soto said.
