They turned off the life support to Brian Paolo, but he began to breathe on his own. Ten days later, he gave his daughter away at her wedding.
His daughter Anne-Marie said: "The doctors had prepared us for the worst and it looked like they were right. But dad fought back.
"I couldn't believe it when he started to recover and we realised he would be there for the wedding. The doctors and nurses said they had never seen anything like it - they were astounded.