A comatose football fan who was within hours of having his life support machine switched off woke up after his family played his team’s favourite crowd chants at his bedside.
Tony Kemp, 59, suffered a mini-stroke caused by an aneurysm in the frontal lobe.
He was in surgery for eighteen hours then left in a coma and his wife Danna was told to prepare for the worst.
Tony Kemp, pictured, suffered a mini stroke after a brain aneurysm in the frontal lobe
His family were told to prepare for the worse as plans were being made to shut off his life support system, however, after they played him some Plymouth Argyle chants on their iPad, Mr Kemp opened his eyes and began his miraculous recovery from the stroke
Danna Kemp, left, sat for two days beside her husband Tony, right, while he was in a coma
Devoted Danna sat by her husband’s side for two days as the deadline for turning off life-support approached.
But as a last ditched attempt she played some Plymouth Argyle football chants on her iPad.
Danna said: ‘I got a call from the surgeon, he asked me to go and speak to him – my first thought was “he’s gone”.
‘We went into ICU and we were told that if he didn’t show any signs then his life support would be turned off in 48 hours.
‘He really pushed it to the limit – we tried talking to him, squeezing his hand and playing him music, but there was nothing. I brought the kids up to see him.
‘We decided to play some Argyle chants – which is when he opened his eyes.’
The father of three from Plymouth, Devon, follows his local club Plymouth Argyle
Mr Kemp, pictured leaving hospital in Bristol, was in surgery for 18 hours
Tony, a father of three from Plymouth, Devon, is a devout supporter of Plymouth Argyle FC.
He owns all the kits and attended every match he could, bellowing out his favourite chants alongside fellow supporters.
He started to feel unwell and was eventually diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, but three attempts to shrink the growth with a coil proved unsuccessful.
In April 2016, a Bristol surgeon agreed to remove the affected blood vessel in Tony’s head, but sadly the operation didn’t go to plan.
As the surgery overran, Danna sat in the waiting room and feared that Tony had already died, due to how long it was taking to hear anything back.
After 18 painstaking hours Tony emerged in a coma and was wheel straight to the intensive care unit.
Danna was told that if he didn’t wake up within 48 hours doctors would have to turn off his life support.
The whole family were relieved that Tony responded to the chants, but again their hopes were dashed as nurses warned that Tony would need a tracheotomy to breathe.
However a day later, to everyone’s surprise, Tony had this tubes taken out and has continued to make a miraculous recovery.
‘He is now walking and going to the shop independently, but his memory is not how it used to be,’ said self-employed Danna.
‘He can’t remember certain things and some memories come back jumbled.’
Now Danna has organised a charity event to repay two charities that stepped in to help Tony while he was hospitalised, Headway, and Plymouth Argyle’s Green Taverners.