Family Says Fish Oil Helped Save Son's Life After Horrific Car Accident

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- It may sound too incredible to be true, but fish oil may have healing powers for the brain.

Just ask the parents of Grant Virgin, the teenage boy who was nearly killed in a car accident and was left motionless in a hospital bed.

Virgin's family only knew a few details about the accident. He was hit by a white car in a hit-and-run and had to be air lifted from the scene. His family rushed to the hospital to find out if he was still alive, CBS 2's Cindy Hsu reported.

"The doctor had a really bad look on his face," his mother said.

Grant's injuries were staggering; a torn aorta, multiple brain bleeds, and broken bones everywhere.

Doctors initially told his parents to 'let him go'. They refused.

After two weeks and several surgeries Virgin was in a coma. His heart was okay but his brain was not and doctors said that it probably never would be.

"The doctor told me 'Okay, now we wait,'" Grant's mother said, "She said, 'Nope, there's nothing we can do we just wait. The brain's got its own time schedule."

Grant's family refused to sit back and do nothing. They started by giving him progesterone a hormone that may reduce brain swelling.

Soon, Grant began to speak. Then, his family turned to omega-3 fish oils, they experimented with mega doses delivered through a feeding tube.

"I don't want to wait another 20-years while they do a bunch more studies to prove that it really works. I don't need that," he mother said.

Grant's parents said that the omega-3's immediately worked wonders.

Just days after starting the high dose fish oil therapy, Grant made a phone call.

"It was unbelievable. A couple days into giving him the fish oil he is now talking in sentences," his mother said.

About 30 percent of the brain is composed of omega-3 fatty acids. The theory is that omega-3's can reduce inflammation, preserve some cells, and rebuild others.

A year later, Grant is still in therapy but making progress.

Omega-3's have appeared to work in other cases including one that involved a coal miner who suffered a brain injury in an explosion.

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