W.Va. student graduates 16 years after starting college


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MONTGOMERY, W.Va. (AP) — A student at West Virginia University Institute of Technology has graduated more than 16 years after he was hospitalized in a coma.

The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/1FXyVDU) reports 35-year-old Jermaine Gadson received a sports management diploma Saturday in Montgomery.

Gadson says he can't remember how he ended up at Cabell Huntington Hospital in December 1998 as a Marshall University freshman. He only remembers being at a party drinking.

Gadson's father, Johnnie Gadson, says doctors indicated his son was brain-dead and likely wouldn't recover.

Jermaine Gadson emerged from the coma after four weeks. His father says doctors had no medical reason for his son's recovery.

But Jermaine Gadson had short-term memory problems and initially tried to return to college without success.

He says he knew he'd eventually be able to graduate.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette, http://www.wvgazette.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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