Young couples who marry frequently believe they will have decades together to construct their lives and flourish. But, as we all know, life can be quite unpredictable and throw you a curveball you never imagined!
On a Saturday in May 2007, Ryan Finley awoke to find everything normal. He looked at the time and knew he needed to wake his wife, Jill Finley, as well.
“I went to wake Jill up, which is a miracle in itself as I never, ever, do that on Saturday mornings,” he later recalled.
He called her name, but she didn’t react. Surprised, he began shaking her but received no response. He then began to feel fяιgнтєиє∂ and scαrєd. Ryan quickly contacted 911 while performing CPR on his wife.
When paramedics came, they promptly moved her to an ambulance, which transported her to the hospital. He drove closely behind the ambulance in his truck.
When they arrived at the hospital and medical specialists checked Jill’s condition, they determined that she had experienced a heart arrest.
Jill performed necessary medical operations to help stabilize her, while Ryan waited outside the emergency hospital, periodically receiving an update on his wife’s status.
When the doctor eventually came out to give Ryan an update on his wife, he concluded by telling him to pr:ay. Ryan recognized the gravity of the issue, saying, “When a doctor tells you, you need to start praying, I feel it’s about as serious as it’s going to get.”
The physicians soon notified Ryan that his wife was in a coma. He couldn’t believe his lovely, vibrant 31-year-old wife was struggling for her life.
During Jill’s two weeks in a coma, a steady stream of guests came to see her and Ryan and offer their support. One of Jill’s relatives also arrived, carrying a Bible. He stood for at least an hour, reading from the Bible to Jill.
He handed Ryan the Bible and told him to read any portions he wanted. Ryan would then recite Bible verses aloud to his wife in the hopes that she would awaken.
After 11 days of Jill being in a coma, Ryan returned home to spend some time alone. He wondered whether to take Jill off life support, as the doctors suggested. Doctors feared her condition would not improve and recommended that she be taken off life support.
He was aware that it meant Jill would ∂ιє soon, but the next day he instructed physicians to pull the plug on his wife. On the 14th day of her coma, she was taken off life support.
About 5 hours after being taken off life support, Jill began to move and murmur. Ryan was unable to see what he felt were his vibrant wife’s final moments, so he stepped out into the waiting area till she died.
He remembers the next events vividly: “The nurse came out and said, ‘I think you need to come in, she’s talking.’”
He walked in anticipating to have one final talk with his wife. He recalls: “I walked in and Jill was talking. First thing she said was, ‘Get me out of here. I want to go home.’”
Ryan was astonished but unclear whether it was just lucid muttering, so he peppered her with questions she could only answer if she was totally there. He asked her about their pets’ names and a few mental math tasks, which she answered properly. She even requested to go to her favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner.
Jill later stated that she had no recollection of the coma and only felt as if she had been gone for a while and then returned. Ryan was asked in an interview what he thought brought his wife back, and he promptly replied, “God. Divine intervention. I honestly feel that way.”
Not everything returned to normal after Jill awoke. She had to relearn several of her motor skills, such as cleaning her teeth and tying her shoelaces, from scratch.
The pair sees this as a second chance at life and their love, and they make an effort to be at each other’s sides at all times. Jill believes Ryan made the correct decision by removing her from life support because she does not want to live her life as a “vegetable.”
Ryan’s worry and panic from the incident remain, and he says he always checks to see if she is still around. He explains, “there’s still not a night that goes by that I don’t wake up. I’ll usually kick her and if she kicks me back, I know we’re OK.”
Sometimes life provides you a second chance that you would never expect! We are delighted that Ryan and Jill Finley are doing well.
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