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An Edmonton man shot in the head while driving home from the gym during a random 2018 crime spree is talking again.

Herman Koo, 39, was in a coma for 10 days after he was shot on March 27, 2018, at 106 Avenue and 123 Street. The bullet that lodged in the part of his brain that controls speech and movement is still there. He now has aphasia, which impacts his ability to speak, understand, and read and write.

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Koo’s doctors told his family he wouldn’t survive. When he came out of a coma, they said he wouldn’t be able to talk, walk or eat by himself. He was in a wheelchair for six weeks, and now, close to two years after he was shot, he’s speaking fluently.

“It’s wicked. It’s come a long way,” Koo said. “Now, with all the help … I can speak a little better.”

Koo couldn’t speak for several months after he was injured. He also has some difficulty using his right hand.

Last October, he got his driver’s license, but he hasn’t been able to go back to work. Before he was shot, he was a control room operator at Pembina Pipeline Corporation, and he worked for Shell in Fort McMurray before that.