Rancho Palos Verdes teen on road to recovery after month-long coma
After about 7 weeks in the hospital, Jonathan Smart-Abbey is pushed around in a wheelchair by his brother Stephen Amankwa. Smart-Abbey suffered a heart attack and anoxic brain injury in early May and was in a month-long coma.
Jonathan Smart-Abbey had decided where he would attend college this fall. On May 1, the Palos Verdes High School senior told his family. The next day, he went swimming and met friends at Ryan Park in Rancho Palos Verdes to play basketball. He was 18, healthy, a month shy of graduating high school.
After playing for a couple of hours, he felt faint and called for a sub. He walked over to the sidelines and suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching his side.
“He was laying on the ground, punching his fists, eyes wide open. It looked like he was in a lot of pain,” said Melvin Hakimian, 18, who was playing basketball with him that day.
