Purple Heart veteran emerging from coma, wife says it’s a ‘Christmas miracle’

Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

A Purple Heart veteran who has been in a coma for 10 weeks is giving his family a “Christmas miracle” with the progress he’s been making.

Tony Belt, 39, suffered a traumatic brain injury and fell into a coma following a workplace accident in September, KETV reported. Belt's wife, Kyli, told KETV that doctors didn't think he would survive.

But Belt, a Purple Heart recipient who served in the Army with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has continued to defy the odds. Kyli said just last week, he started moving more and opened his eyes.

The therapists at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals have been working with Belt and encouraging his family, including three young sons, to participate as well, KETV reported. Right now, Belt can only communicate by motioning with a thumbs up or down. But one of his sons said he would talk by Christmas Eve, so Kyli is hoping her husband has even more Christmas miracles in store.

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