37 years ago, Jean Adams, a French footballer got injured while playing football and was instructed to undergo surgery.
Before the surgery could begin, the doctor in charge of repairing his torn ligament made a mistake while putting him to sleep and he has been unconscious since then.
The doctor in question is said to have been arrested but only fined €744 (US$815). Both the anaesthetist and trainee were given one-month suspended sentences.
Remarkably, his wife Bernadette, whom he married in 1969, is still by his side to this day.
When the surgery was conducted, he was 34 years old and is now 71.
Adams started playing with RC Fontainebleau in 1967 as a striker, with whom he won the Championnat de France amateur twice. In 1970, he signed a contract with Nîmes Olympique, going on to remain in Ligue 1 for the following nine seasons, also playing for OGC Nice and Paris Saint-Germain FC.
In the 1971–72 campaign, Adams contributed with four goals in all 38 games to help Nîmes to a best-ever second place, also winning the Cup of the Alps.
He added a career-best nine in 1973–74, for a final ninth position.
