What happened to Jean-Pierre Adams? Ex-PSG player has been in a coma for 39 years

Earlier this month, on March 10, former PSG defender Jean-Pierre Adams turned 73, but unfortunately, his fans and close family were unsure of what to get him on his birthday. The story of the former footballer is an absolute tragedy as he continues to spend his life in a coma even after slipping into the vegetative state 39 years ago. Adams went into hospital for routine knee surgery in 1982, following his retirement and has been in a coma ever since.

Who is Jean-Pierre Adams? Adams' football career and retirement

Born in Senegal, Adams moved to France when he was 10 and played for several French clubs including Nice and Paris Saint-Germain. Nicknamed “The Black Rock”, Adams also featured in 22 internationals for France between 1972 and 1976. However, Adams' life took a tragic turn just a year after his retirement at 33 when he was at a Lyon hospital for a routine surgery to repair a ruptured knee ligament.

 

What happened to Jean-Pierre Adams?

According to reports, when Adams visited the Édouard Herriot Hospital hospital in 1982, he was given a near-fatal dose of anaesthetic before the knee operation, leaving him in a vegetative state. He later suffered from bronchospasm, which starved his brain of oxygen and it slipped him into the coma he's been in ever since. In the 1990s, a court ruled that both the anaesthetist and trainee that were caring for Adams were given one-month suspended sentences, as well as a hefty fine. The Jean-Pierre Adams coma story left fans on social media emotional.

Jean-Pierre Adams wife reveals former France footballer's condition 

In July last year, Adams' wife Bernadette spoke to CNN and revealed the former footballer's condition. Bernadette, who has remained by Adams' side since he slipped into a coma 39 years ago, said, "People on Facebook say it should be disconnected (the machines), but he is not attacked and I have not the courage to stop him from eating and drinking. He has a normal routine, he wakes up at 7 in the morning, eats… he may be in a vegetative state, but he can still hear and sit in a wheelchair."

Jean-Pierre Adams update

Reports suggest that Adams is still unable to communicate and express emotion, but he can still breathe, feel, eat and cough without the aid of medical equipment and lives at home near Nimes. Earlier this year, Adams' former France teammate Marius Tresor revealed that he hasn't found the courage to visit his former teammate since the awful incident. “Even if Jean-Pierre woke up, he would not recognise anybody. So is it worth living like this? If a similar thing happened to me, I told my wife not to keep me here," said Tresor.

 

Image Credits - AP