Man wakes up from coma with craft skills he's never had

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After being being diagnosed with a rare form of bacterial meningitis and tuberculosis in his brain, Moe Hunter spent more than a month in a coma in 2004. He woke up from his coma with a particular set of skills: those of a professional carpenter and model builder.

In order to treat his illness, he had to install a shunt to drain fluid from his brain after performing a lifesaving surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK and when he awoke, doctors called him "a walking miracle.”

Although he previously had no interest in crafts or arts, he suddenly was able to master skills of painting and carpentry: “I really wasn’t creative before in the slightest. I was more interested in going outside, football, and computer games."

"I look at all of my stuff now and I’m, like, ‘never in a trillion years could I do this stuff’. I have no idea how it happened. When I spoke to the neurologist he just said ‘enjoy it’, and said there’s so much about the brain they still can’t decipher and this is just a phenomenon."

“Nobody has really given a medical explanation for it. I just know comas can do crazy things to a human brain. They said there’s many stories and theories over the years about people having awakened from comas with skills… even speaking other languages.”

A Legend of Zelda character was the first image he drew, baffling his mother: “It was crazy, I haven’t stopped since then. I just found I had this passion which never existed in me before.”

He put his new skills to work and began his career as a self-employed carpenter, building detailed replicas of superheroes and film icons, ending up selling his artwork at Comic-Con events across the UK.

His paintings, illustrations, and Star Wars models such as a life-size R2-D2 and a miniature Chewbacca are displayed in his home in Hereford, England. 

“I just feel incredibly lucky. After being given this second chance at life and a new talent, I wanted to make the most of it so I became self-employed as a carpenter making toy boxes. This wasn’t something I could have done before, and it was nice. I really enjoyed it.

“I’ve met some of the cast of Star Wars—and the man who made Darth Vader’s helmet came and spoke to me. I’ve been really lucky where this new talent has taken me.

Hunter added: “I’ve written my own comic story too, so it has extended to creative writing, which I never would have touched before. I’m also now writing a screenplay,”

“I’m just doing what my neurologist told me to do and just trying to enjoy it.”

“Even to this day some of my family can’t believe it, they’re still completely shocked.