I’m living a real-life 50 first dates – my husband suffered a brain injury after he was flung off his motorbike headfirst

One couple lives a life that seems straight out of a movie: it’s more of a tragedy 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, following a serious head injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident.

Jannira, 27, who now cares for her 31-year-old husband full-time, admits she experiences grief on a daily basis.

“The sadness was even greater when he came home,” said Jannira, who lives in Houston, Texas.

“Faith is the only thing that keeps me going. Brain injury is completely unpredictable. It’s not an easy journey.”

The family was on their way to the beach on July 20, 2023 when the terrible accident occurred.

Jannira was the first to arrive at the beach with their son Aaron, now eight, and became confused when Norberto was not there.

“It was surprising that we were the first,” she recalls. “I called him because he had a Bluetooth helmet on, but he didn’t answer.”

Jannira only realised her husband had been in an accident after she posted a message online with a photo of his bike and information about a road closure.

“I saw the police posted on Facebook about closing a road and the picture of the motorcycle,” she said. “My stomach turned.”

The family suspects Noberto was driving at high speed and hit a curb before flying head-first into a lamppost.

He was rushed to a trauma hospital with skull fractures, a broken collarbone, a broken rib, a broken spine and a broken femur.

He was diagnosed with severe diffuse axonal injury, with the long connecting nerve fibers of the brain torn. According to Jannira, this resembled shaken baby syndrome. His family was told that it was unlikely he would survive.

“A lot of doctors had no hope,” Jannira said. “They said his head had been cracked open and his brain had been exposed.”

After his accident, his family were told it was unlikely he would survive, as his condition was compared to shaken baby syndrome.

Jannira is now her husband’s full-time caregiver after the terrible accident, and admits she experiences grief on a daily basis

Noberto was rushed to a trauma hospital with skull fractures, a broken collarbone, a broken rib, a broken spine and a broken femur

The family believes Noberto was driving at high speed and hit a curb before flying head first into a lamppost

However, his recovery took a turn when Noberto suffered a stroke a month later, causing swelling and pressure on the brain stem.

“I was told you had to start planning a funeral,” Jannira said.

“They said he would never be able to move, walk or breathe on his own again. They thought he would be paralyzed.”

Miraculously, Noberto made a steady recovery and emerged from his coma in September 2023. He was still able to open his eyes occasionally for a few minutes.

He made his first ‘purposeful move’ in October, when he blew Jannira a kiss.

“Then it slowly started to increase,” the devoted wife said.

In November 2023, he underwent another operation to repair the fractures in his skull. After the operation, he was able to move his legs and fingers for the first time, but he was unable to speak until after the operation.

Unfortunately, Noberto’s condition deteriorated again in December and a VP shunt was placed in his brain to ensure that the fluid drained normally. He had to spend another month in rehabilitation before he was allowed to go home on January 31, 2024.

Since he has been home he has made great progress. He can now sit, talk and sing on his own. However, his memory is severely affected.

“It’s like that movie 50 First Dates,” she explained.He’s like the character called ‘Ten Second Tom,’ who reintroduces himself every 10 seconds.’

“When I’m feeding him, I say, ‘Can you tell me what you’re eating?’ and he can say, ‘I’m eating eggs,’” she said.

“But if you ask him 10 minutes later, he doesn’t remember.”

He underwent another surgery in November 2023 to repair the fractures in his skull and began to move his legs and fingers and attempted to speak after the surgery. Pictured with his son Aaron before his accident

Jannira was told by doctors that he would never move, walk or breathe on his own again. “They thought he would be paralyzed,” she said.

Jannira said she also has to remind her husband who she and her son are. She says that it is getting better and that he recognizes her more and more.

As a result of the accident, Noberto suffers from hallucinations, can no longer see in his right eye and is completely blind in his left eye.

Although caregiving is a huge responsibility, Jannira says she has accepted that it is the new norm.

“You have to accept that this is the new normal and accommodate them to their current situation,” she said.

“My husband’s personality hasn’t changed,” she said passionately. “He’s still sassy, ​​sarcastic, and still laughs at jokes.”