Just three days ago Bee Gees star Robin Gibb was on a life support machine and his family were told to expect the worst. But the singer has defied the odds by regaining consciousness and uttering his first words. More than a week after he slipped into a coma, the 62-year-old opened his eyes, looked at his son and touchingly said “Hello RJ”. Doctors treating Robin at The London Clinic have said they have been “confounded” by his recovery.
In a statement, his physician Andrew Thillainayagam revealed he is now “fully conscious, lucid and able to speak to his loved ones”, adding: “He is breathing on his own with an oxygen mask”. “It is a testament to Robin’s extraordinary courage, iron will and deep reserves of physical strength that he has overcome quite incredible odds to get where he is now,” he said. The songwriter fell into a coma after contracting pneumonia in his battle against colon and liver cancer. His family – wife Dwina (pictured) and children Robin-John, Spencer and Melissa - have kept a constant vigil, and played his favourite music to help his recovery. Brother Barry Gibb has been singing at his bedside, and his wife revealed that Robin cried when he heard Roy Orbinson’s song Crying.
Doctor Thillainayagam has said that the medical team’s immediate goals were to ensure that the musician can eat and drink safely and also recover enough strength to breath effectively with little use of the oxygen mask. “When this happens, we will be able to begin the process of nutritional and physical rehabilitation and may be able to move him from the intensive care unit to the ward,” he said.“The road for Robin remains uncertain, but it is a privilege to look after such an extraordinary human being.”