Jonathan Buckelew, 34, became dizzy, disoriented and unresponsive during the chiropractor appointment
A man in his 20s was left suffering from locked-in syndrome after a chiropractor appointment triggered a life-threatening medical emergency.
Jonathan Buckelew’s loved ones say he ‘lost every aspect of his life’ after the rare neurological condition which essentially paralyses people took hold following an incident in October 2015.
The now 34-year-old underwent a chiropractic neck adjustment and suddenly became dizzy, disoriented and unresponsive during the appointment, Atlanta News First (ANF) reports.
He was rushed to the North Fulton Hospital in the US state of Georgia, but according to court documents, doctors failed to diagnose what was going on with Jonathan.
Tragically, he was suffering from a severe brain stem stroke – and the young man lost precious time to halt the damage, as medics missed it.
Jonathan Buckelew won a $75 million lawsuit after doctors failed to diagnose his condition (Facebook/Janice Buckelew)
It went undiagnosed for a day, and this delay ended up leaving Jonathan with locked-in syndrome, meaning he is conscious but unable to move or communicate verbally, except via eye movements.
His lawyer, Lloyd Bell, explained: “Jonathan was having a stroke when he came to the hospital, and they missed it. The people who were responsible for reading the radiographs misread it.
“The ER doctor saw this patient was having all these signs and symptoms of stroke and never called a stroke alert, and they had policies in place that they were supposed to follow certain protocols to reach the correct diagnosis, and they didn’t follow their policies and procedures.”
Jonathan’s family launched legal proceedings against the chiropractor, the hospital, Dr. Matthew Womack, radiologist James Waldschmidt, and the on-call neurologist Christopher Nickum.
A jury at a Fulton County state court ruled that Womack and Waldschmidt had been ‘grossly negligent’ when failing to diagnose Jonathan’s condition, resulting in him being awarded $75 million in damages.
The court also heard how Womack had not told Nickum that Jonathan had visited a chiropractor that day nor that the patient had experienced two seizure-like events.
Jonathan had visited a chiropractor for a neck adjustment prior to his stroke (Atlanta News First)
The radiologist also missed key information on scans, according to ANF, but the chiropractor, the hospital, and its staff were not found liable.
Jonathan reportedly received $9 million for his previous medical expenses, $20 million for future medical costs and $46 million for pain and suffering as a result of the medical malpractice lawsuit.
Speaking in the wake of the verdict, Bell said: “This case is heartbreaking because Jonathan’s paralysis and brain damage were completely avoidable.
“If the slew of healthcare providers involved in Jonathan’s care would have acted according to the standard of care, caught and treated his stroke earlier, and communicated more effectively, Jonathan’s life would look entirely different.”
Despite the mammoth compensation Jonathan was awarded, his family say it still doesn’t equate to the life he has lost.
“I really feel like there’s no real justice for somebody who lost every aspect of his life,” his father, Jack Buckelew, said.
“We’re just focusing on what can we do now; how can we keep him as happy as possible; and how can we give him the best life possible.”
The dad explained that he and Jonathan’s mum, Janice, now care for their formerly fit and active son around the clock alongside a team of nurses.
His family said it ‘breaks their heart’ to see what has happened to the 34-year-old (Facebook/Janice Buckelew)
They’ve adapted their home to accommodate Jonathan, who can’t talk but communicates by blinking or using his nose to type on a keypad, and their garage has become a medical supply room.
“We do work really hard to keep at least two months ahead on the supplies,” Jack continued. “We created an ICU, honestly.”
He then said of his son: “In spite of his spirit which keeps us going – because he wants to do things, he wants to go places – it just breaks our heart to see him like he is.
“There are some days where he’s like ‘pull the plug,’ so those are the tough days.”
Womack appealed the court ruling, and this was initially denied. However, he has now taken the appeal to Georgia’s Supreme Court.
Waldschmidt also filed an appeal but later withdrew it.
LADbible has contacted Tenet Health, which owns the hospital where Jonathan was treated, for comment.Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Janice Buckelew
Man who suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years describes moment he woke up and realised what was happening
Martin Pistorius might have finally felt like himself again after regaining consciousness, but he couldn’t communicate it to anyone
A man who spent more than a decade suffering from ‘locked-in syndrome’ while his mind regressed to the age of an infant has told how he felt ‘utterly powerless’ when he finally realised what was going on.
Despite defying the odds and the bleak prognosis doctors had given him, Martin Pistorius explained he was enveloped by sheer despair when he began regaining consciousness – as he was unable to tell anyone.
And tragically, he faced an extremely lengthy wait before anyone realised.
Martin, from Johannesburg, South Africa, was just 12 years old when his life changed forever after he came home from school one day in January 1988 while suffering from a sore throat.
As his condition continued to worsen, his parents rushed him to hospital where baffled medics tried to work out what was wrong with him.
Speaking to LADbible in April this year, Martin explained that doctors suspected he was suffering from cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain, so was treated for both – but these efforts were unsuccessful.
“My body weakened and I lost the ability to speak and control my movements,” he said, while explaining that he began to slip into a vegetative state which would end up lasting for four years.
Martin Pistorius spent his teenage years ‘locked in’ a coma (Supplied)
‘Utter powerlessness’
Doctors could still not determine the cause of the young lad’s condition and told his parents, Joan and Rodney, that he had no hope of survival.
His mum and dad were later informed that an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby, wheelchair-bound and mute, while medics estimated he had less than two years to live.
Throughout his teenage years, Martin spent his days in a care centre while he would return to his family each night – and he described this dark period of his life as being like ‘an empty shell, unaware of anything around me’.
But four years after he first fell ill, there was an incredible breakthrough, which the South African says was the moment that he began to feel like himself again – which as you can imagine, was both thrilling and terrifying.
He explained: “I remember around my 16th birthday people talking about the stubble on my chin and wondering whether to shave me.
“It scared and confused me to listen to what was being said because, although I had no memories or sense of a past, I was sure I was a child and the voices were speaking about a soon-to-be man.
“I was able to hear, see and understand everything around me but I had absolutely no power or control over anything.
“For me, that feeling of complete and utter powerlessness is probably the worst feeling I have ever experienced, and I hope I never have to experience again.”
Sadly, nobody around Martin was able to realise he was conscious and they continued to assume he was still in a coma.
He began to regain consciousness when he turned 16 but couldn’t communicate this with anyone (Instagram/@martinpistorius)
Agonising wait
He would spend the next few years being shunted between his home and day-care centres, and he started to lose hope – fearing he would die alone in a care home without anybody realising he was conscious.
“What really got to me was the complete and utter powerlessness,” Martin explained.
“Every single aspect of your life is controlled and determined by someone else. They decide where you are, what you eat, whether you sit or lie down, in what position you lie in, everything.”
But in 2001, Martin met therapist Virna van der Walt at his day centre, who picked up on the ‘sparkle in his eye’ and sensed that her patient could understand a lot more than what other people thought.
She encouraged the then-25-year-old’s parents to take him to the Centre For Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) at the University Of Pretoria, who realised he had regained consciousness.
Martin described Virna as ‘the catalyst who changed everything’, while adding that he believes he would either be dead or ‘forgotten in a care home somewhere’ if it wasn’t for her.
He recalled how a researcher at CAAC held up a sheet of paper with symbols on it and he was asked to locate a ball with his eyes – and after finding that shape, he was then tasked with tracking down a dog.
This confirmed Virna’s suspicions that Martin was aware of what was going on, resulting in his parents purchasing him a computer that was preloaded with communication software so he could converse with them.
Martin is now happily married to his wife Joanna, who he shares son Sebastian with (Instagram/@martinpistorius)
Second chance
Martin would select letters, words or symbols on the device using a band attached to his head, which would act like a mouse, allowing him to finally regain his voice and his independence.
The medical marvel later started working with Virna at the care centre in 2003, before meeting his wife Joanna and emigrating to the UK – where the pair got hitched to in Essex in 2009.
Martin wrote a book about his harrowing experience, titled Ghost Boy, as well as later hosting a TED Talk in 2015 titled: “How my mind came back to life – and no one knew.”
He went on to welcome a son, Sebastian Albert Pistorius, in 2018 with social worker Joanna and has continued to come on leaps and bounds ever since.
Updating his followers on his progress in an Instagram post, Martin explained: “Since 2010 I have: graduated with a first class honours degree in computer science, learnt to drive, publish my book (Ghost Boy), given a TED Talk, started wheelchair racing, set a European record, been awarded a Doctorate, travelled far and wide, and become a father.
“I am intensely grateful to the people who have passed through my life, and those who remain part of it, especially my wife. For without them and the grace of God, none of this would have been possible.”
These days, Martin is a computer scientist and web developer – with a kick ass life story which should serve as a reminder to us all to not take anything, especially our voices and independence, for granted.Featured Image Credit: Supplied
Topics: Health, World News, News, Technology, Mental Health
Olivia Burke
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Updated 19:44 11 Jun 2025 GMT+1Published 19:45 11 Jun 2025 GMT+1
British tourist who went missing in Thailand found on life support fighting for his life
Ashton Jones, 29, was found in hospital in a serious condition
A British tourist who went missing on a night out in Thailand has been found in hospital hooked up to a life support machine, and now his family are making a desperate plea.
Ashton Jones went to Bangkok with a friend on 30 May and they met another of their friends out in Thailand, but the 29-year-old got separated from them while on holiday.
Five days into the trip he disappeared from a nightclub they were in, and he was later found at Chonburi Hospital undergoing emergency brain surgery, with doctors believing that the Brit was violently attacked.
The missing man, who suffers from epilepsy, was fighting for his life while his family were on the other side of the world with no idea what had happened to Ashton.
Since his trip to Thailand was a last-minute decision he didn’t get any insurance and his family are trying to raise money through a GoFundMe, which you can donate to here, so they can pay for Ashton’s medical bills and his travel back to the UK.
The fundraiser has been set up by his grandmother Beverly Walker, who said: “I am deeply concerned that without immediate financial or diplomatic assistance, my grandson may not survive.
29-year-old Ashton Jones went missing on a night out in Thailand, he ended up in hospital having emergency surgery (Wales News Service)
“The emotional toll on our family is immense. We are heartbroken and fearful, watching from afar while Ashton suffers without the care he urgently requires.”
She explained that days after Ashton ended up in Chonburi Hospital on 3 June staff tried to wake him up and were successful in doing so.
However, Beverly said that since being woken up her grandson was ‘bed-bound and suffering with fits, cannot talk, eat or drink and isn’t aware’.
Unfortunately she said that the cost of her grandson’s treatment was ‘far beyond what our family can afford’.
Ashton’s grandma Beverly is trying to raise money to pay for his treatment and get him home (Wales News Service)
“In the meantime, Ashton’s condition continues to deteriorate, and it feels as though we are being left helpless as time runs out,” the grandmother said of being stuck on the other side of the world while Ashton was in hospital in Thailand.
“We have already put together life savings for medical bills, flights, travel, accommodation to be with him but would never be able to afford to get him home to better health care and his family.
“We all as a family are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home.”
The family are hoping to raise £50,000 to cover the cost of his medical bills and get him some travel back home.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”
