First signs of recovery after terrible collision: football player Donny van Iperen speaks first words

A day later he says ‘I have a headache’ to his family and now he also says the names of his loved ones. The North Holland footballer still mixes up English and Dutch and is quite confused. Yet brother Joey van Iperen sounds more positive than usual. “This is a very big step. I am hopeful and at times there is awareness,” he says excitedly.

What many people think is that Donny is in a coma, but that is not the case. He breathes independently, only he is not conscious. The footballer has a mental disorder. This has to do with damage in the thalamus, an important part of the brain.

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Getting started in Moldova

Only last summer, Van Iperen proudly announced his transfer to the Moldovan club FC Zimbru. After two years with the Greek AE Karaiskakis Artas, he embarks on a new adventure in Chisinau. NH Nieuws sports reporter Thomas Brood joked to him that he would hopefully get paid. “They look good. Checked with FIFA. Greece is worse, haha,” he replied.

In his first match with FC Zimbru, he plays the entire match against the Moldovan top team Sheriff Tiraspol. In only his second game for the club, disaster strikes. He plays against Dinamo Auto on a deserted field in Tiraspol. In the eleventh minute of the game a free kick is taken and the ball goes to the home team’s penalty area. The keeper punches the ball away and grazes Donny. A duel that you see so often, but the football player from Sint Pancras remains motionless.

Moldovan Hospital

The first week he is in hospital in the capital Chisinau. Initially, it is said that there are bruises in the brain and no damage. That is false hope, because further research shows that there is indeed bleeding in the brain.

The family wants to bring the footballer to the Netherlands as soon as possible. “Maybe the doctors are good there, but I had the feeling that we were going back to the 1970s. They opened an attic window for air circulation. Donny was lying there in a room with other people,” says Joey, who immediately went to Moldova. has flown.

The blow is big when they are told that Donny cannot just be recorded in the Netherlands. The footballer does not have proper insurance and there is no hospital that wants to admit him.

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To the Netherlands

After a call in the media, Van Iperen lands in the Netherlands a week later. Erasmus MC is taking him in. There the family hears that the thalamus has been damaged. That is an important brain core. The footballer has good days, but also bad days. After more than two weeks of being treated in the Netherlands, his situation has not really improved, but has not deteriorated either.

The family would love to bring Donny to Alkmaar to receive further treatment closer to home. That is not easy, given the queues and the complex situation of the footballer. To make matters worse, Donny turns out to be a carrier of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. As a result, he has to remain in isolation and treatment near his native village of Sint Pancras is not possible for the time being. Another blow to his loved ones.

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first words

On Monday, for the first time, there is more hope for the family. The 27-year-old footballer has spoken the word ‘yes’. Later he also says ‘he has a headache’.

When the family is visiting the hospital and they ask if Donny knows who they are, he answers with their names. “We hope that this heralds the next phase of recovery and we will continue to focus on rehabilitation. We know how strong Donny is and how hard he can fight, he will eventually overcome this,” says Joey van Iperen.

Come on, Donnie!