During a 1995 roof collapse, a fire fighter named Donald Herbert was left brain damaged. For ten years, (1)____________. Then, one Saturday morning, he did something that shocked his family and doctors. He started speaking. " I want to talk to my wife." Donald Herbert said out of the blue. (2)________________, raced to get Linda Herbert on the telephone. "It was the first of many conversations the 44-year-old patient had with his family and friends during the 14 hour stretch" Herbert' s uncle Simon Menka said. "How long have I been away?" Herbert asked. "We told him almost ten years," the uncle said, "he thought it was only three months." Herbert was fighting (3)______________, burying him underneath. After going without air for several minutes, Herbert was unconscious for two and a half months and has undergone therapy ever since. News accounts in the days and years after his injury, described Herbert as blind and with little if any memory. A video shows him receiving physical therapy but (4)_____________. Menka declined to discuss his nephew' s current condition or whether the apparent progress is continuing. "The family was seeking privacy while doctors evaluated Herbert" , he said. As word of Herbert' s progress spread, visitors streamed into the nursing home. "He' s resting comfortably," the uncle told them.
