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Jean-Pierre Adams, a former French soccer star, has died after being in a coma for 39 years. He was 73 years old.
Adams was just 34 when he slipped into a deep coma at Lyon Hospital in 1982 after a botched knee operation. The surgery was intended to repair a damaged tendon in his knee he got while on a coaching training camp.
On the morning of the operation, Adams reportedly told his wife: "It's all fine, I'm in great shape."
During the routine surgery, there was a problem with Adams' supply of anesthetic, leaving him in a persistent vegetative state.
Adams suffocated and suffered a cardiac arrest during the operation.
He was pronounced dead on September 6, 2021, at the Nîmes University Hospital in France.
Originally from Dakar, Senegal, the athlete played for the French national team between 1972 and 1976. He also played for club sides including Nice and Paris Saint-Germain in his career.
Another one of his former clubs, Nîmes Olympique, tweeted a tribute to the late athlete on Monday.
"The Club offers its most sincere condolences to his loved ones and to his family," they wrote, translated from French.
Nous avons appris ce matin la disparition de Jean-Pierre Adams.
— ? Nîmes Olympique (@nimesolympique) September 6, 2021
Il avait porté les couleurs du Nîmes Olympique à 84 reprises et formait avec Marius Trésor "la garde noire" en Équipe de France.
Le Club présente ses plus sincères condoléances à ses proches et à sa famille. pic.twitter.com/jt5AqinXDg
Meanwhile, OGC Nice also tweeted their condolences to their former defender.
L'#OGCNice a appris avec déchirement la disparition de Jean-Pierre Adams plongé dans le coma depuis le 17 mars 1982.
— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) September 6, 2021
L'ancien défenseur a porté les couleurs du Gym à 145 reprises de 1973 à 1977.
L'OGCNice s'associe à la peine de ses proches qui ont veillé sur lui pendant 39 ans. pic.twitter.com/i75yOBOhgb
Paris Saint-Germain released a statement on Adams' passing, saying that as a player his "charisma and experience command respect."
"Paris Saint-Germain offers its condolences to his family and loved ones," the statement reads.
Adams is survived by his wife Bernadette Adams, who dedicated her life to caring for her husband.
Speaking about caring for her husband for more than three decades, Bernadette Adams told CNN in 2016: "No one ever forgets to give Jean-Pierre presents, whether it's his birthday, Christmas or Father's Day."
Although in a vegetative state, Bernadette Adams said she believed her husband recognized her voice and felt his presence.
"He senses that it is not me feeding him and looking after him," she said. "It's the nurses who tell me, saying he is not the same.
"I think he feels things. He must recognize the sound of my voice as well."
Before the ill-fated surgery, Bernadette Adams said that Jean-Pierre was "'Joie de vivre' embodied in human form."
She added: "A laugher and joker who liked to go out. Really, a smile was always bursting out. He loved the good life and was loved by everybody as well."
