Nearly 400 people participated in a sporting event in Almuñécar on the 28th of June in support of Javier Rubiño, who lies in a state of coma.

People of all ages braved the heatwave to raise funds in aid of Javi’s plight; he suffers from a syndrome known as cautiverio (locked-in syndrome).

This is a condition in which a person in coma is completely aware of what is happening around him, what is being said, but is unable to communicate other than through blinking and vertical eye movement.

Javi, was not only literally my next door neighbour, but was also a fellow coma patient of my wife in the same Granada hospital.

The participation took two forms; a cycling event and a walk, setting off from the municipal stadium. The walking route was 14 kilometres and left at 09.00h and the MTB cycling event set off an hour later to take place to the north of Almuñécar. Neither event was competitive and each participant donated ten euros to the cause.

This event was organized by a group of friends, some of whom are fellow Club Triatlón Nazarí members, with the aim to raise funds to improve his present condition.

Forty-two-year-old Javi had a motorbike accident two years ago which resulted in a broken collarbone. As it failed to heal properly, he later decided to undergo an operation to improve his physical condition but there were complications during the operation resulting in his present state.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)