A couple lives a life that seems straight out of a movie: a tragedy rather than a romantic comedy.
Just like in the movie 50 First Dates, starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, Jannira Canales has to remind her husband Norberto who she is almost every day as a result of severe head injuries she suffered in a motorcycle accident.
Jannira, 27, who is now a full-time carer for her 31-year-old husband, admits that pain is something she experiences daily.
“The pain was even greater when he returned home,” said Jannira, who lives in Houston, Texas.
“Faith is the only thing that keeps me going. Brain injuries are completely unpredictable. It’s not an easy road.”
Jannira Canales has to remind her husband Norberto who she is almost every day as a result of the serious head injuries she suffered in a motorcycle accident.
The family was heading to the beach on July 20, 2023 when the terrible accident occurred.
Jannira had arrived at the beach first with her son, Aaron, now eight, and was confused when Norberto was not there.
“It was surprising that we arrived early,” he recalls. “I called him because he was wearing a Bluetooth helmet, but he didn’t answer.”
Jannira only realised her husband had been in an accident after seeing a post on the internet with a photo of his bike along with information about a road closure.
“I saw that the police had posted a message on Facebook about a road closure and the photo of the motorbike,” he said. “My stomach dropped.”
The family believes Noberto was speeding and hit a curb before flying headfirst into a light pole.
He was rushed to a trauma hospital with skull fractures, a broken collarbone, a fractured rib, a broken spine and a broken femur.
She was diagnosed with severe diffuse axonal injury (tearing of the long nerve fibers connecting the brain, which Jannira said was similar to shaken baby syndrome) and her family was told she was unlikely to survive.
“Many doctors were not hopeful,” Jannira said. “They said that his head had been split open and that his brain was exposed.”
After her accident, her family was told she was unlikely to survive, comparing her condition to shaken baby syndrome.
Jannira is now her husband’s full-time caregiver after the horrific accident and admits that pain is something she experiences daily.
Noberto was rushed to a trauma hospital with skull fractures, a broken collarbone, a fractured rib, a broken spine and a broken femur.
The family believes Noberto was speeding and hit a curb before flying headfirst into a light pole.
However, his recovery took a turn a month later when Noberto suffered a stroke that caused swelling and pressure on his brain stem.
“They told me, ‘You need to start planning a funeral,'” Jannira said.
“They said he would never be able to move, walk or breathe on his own. They thought he would be paralyzed.”
Miraculously, Noberto began to recover steadily, emerging from the coma in September 2023 and opening his eyes for a couple of minutes at a time.
He began making his first “intentional move” in October, when he blew a kiss to Jannira.
“After that it started to slowly increase,” said the devoted wife.
In November 2023, he underwent another surgery to repair the skull fractures and began to be able to move his legs and fingers before making efforts to speak after the operation.
Unfortunately, Noberto began to deteriorate again in December and had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placed on his brain to help it drain fluid normally, and spent a further month in rehabilitation before returning home on January 31, 2024.
He has improved a lot since returning home and can now sit up on his own, talk and sing, however his memory has been severely affected.
“It’s like that movie ’50 First Dates,'” he explained.It’s like the character named Tom from ten seconds, who re-introduces himself every ten seconds.
“If I’m feeding him, I say, ‘Can you tell me what you’re eating?’ and he might say, ‘I’m eating eggs,'” she said.
“But if you ask him 10 minutes later he won’t remember.”
In November 2023, he underwent another surgery to repair fractures in his skull, and after the operation he began to move his legs and fingers and make efforts to speak. He is pictured with his son Aaron before the accident.
Doctors told Jannira he would never be able to move, walk or breathe on his own again. “They thought he was going to be paralyzed,” he said.
Jannira said she also has to remind her husband who she and her son are, although she says that is getting better and he is acknowledging her more.
As a result of his accident, Noberto suffers hallucinations, loses vision in his right eye and is completely blind in his left eye.
While caring for someone is a big commitment, Jannira said she has accepted that it is the new normal.
“We have to accept that this is the new normal and meet them where they are,” he said.
“My husband’s personality hasn’t changed,” she said passionately. “He’s still cheeky, sarcastic and still laughs at jokes.”