This couldn’t be his thirty-seven year old body that’s constantly plagued with illness either. It was a young body. It recovered very quickly.
Also, he had a heart attack. He didn’t lose consciousness after falling into the ocean.
He probably became someone else, he felt.
His thoughts and emotions ended the day he became fully conscious again and had the breathing apparatus taken off.
He asked the nurse to bring him a mirror. The nurse misunderstood him and said, looking at him, “Don’t worry. Your face wasn’t injured.” He could only smile helplessly. She still dutifully handed him the mirror nonetheless.