Man's first words after waking up from 48-day coma: 'I want Taco Bell'

Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell Cantina in S.F. Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell Cantina in S.F. Photo: Jen Fedrizzi / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Jen Fedrizzi / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Man's first words after waking up from 48-day coma: 'I want Taco Bell' 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

A 35-year-old Florida man named Jake Booth woke up after 48 days in a coma, and as soon as he regained the ability to speak, he only had one simple request: "I want Taco Bell."

Back in February, the Army vet was suffering a debilitating bout of double pneumonia when he had a heart attack and went into a coma, per USA Today. After being taken to a Tampa area hospital, Booth remained unconscious for 47 days. On the 48th, seemingly almost miraculously, he woke up, still knowing who he was and who his family members were.

Though it took some time for him to regain his speech — a tracheotomy has hindered his abilities — when he finally did, he had only tacos on the brain.

"He actually said, out loud, 'I want Taco Bell,'" Booth's brother Jason Schwartz said. "That was the very first thing he said... When he starts getting into a full sentence, he can't do it. But when he does one or two words at a time, you can definitely understand him. So when he asked for Taco Bell almost immediately, his friend Tyler definitely heard him say 'Taco Bell.' Tyler said, 'Do you want Taco Bell?' And Jake said, 'Yes.'"

Unfortunately, Booth wasn't able to eat solid food at the time — it would be another few weeks before that was a real option — but once he got clearance from his doctors, he went big. Like, eight-and-a-half tacos big.

Taco Bell, naturally quick to the punch, sent him a whole bunch of swag and a handwritten card, for this unexpected publicity bump.

This guy woke up from a coma and immediately asked for Taco Bell Posted by NowThis on Friday, May 6, 2016

Booth's recovery will be long, arduous, and quite expensive, so to help with the financial burden, his family has set up a GoFundMe in his name. May his future be full of health, and obviously, tacos.

Alyssa Pereira is an entertainment and pop culture writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.