In a heartwarming tale from Grand Rapids, a mother’s unwavering love has led to a medical miracle, defying the odds and bringing hope to all who hear her story.
According to a feature on Good Morning America, Jennifer Flewellen, at the age of 35, had just dropped off her three boys at school when she began to feel light-headed on her way home. She ended up crashing her car into a pole and as a result, was put in a medically induced coma in a large hospital.
The doctors and nurses were quite skeptical of her chances for recovery. By the second day, physicians were already suggesting to Peggy Means, Flewellen’s mother, that it might be time to consider taking her daughter off life-support.
Means told GMA, “I remember one respiratory nurse, she told me, ‘Well, you know, she’ll only get worse,’ and I told her, ‘Don’t you ever say that to me again, and never say it around my daughter.’”
“I’d say, ‘It’s very easy to be negative, but we have no room for negativity,’” she added.
Despite the grim prognosis, Means refused to give up on her daughter. For five long years, she stood by Flewellen’s side, caring for her in silence. Means went above and beyond, transferring her to different care centers, battling with insurance, and tirelessly advocating for her daughter’s treatment – all while working full-time as an industrial sewer.
Even though Flewellen remained unresponsive, Means continued to shower her with love and care, giving her “spa days” and talking to her as if she were awake, sharing updates about her sons and the world around them.
Then, one miraculous day, after five years of steadfast devotion, Flewellen showed signs of consciousness. Sitting outside the hospital, basking in the sunlight, she laughed at her mother’s jokes. Means couldn’t believe her ears.
“I started to wheel her up to the building,” Means said, being scared at first, “and then I thought, she’s laughing, so I stopped and got my phone out.”
It was the moment she had been praying for – the confirmation that her daughter was still there, fighting to come back to life.
“I would ask her questions about the boys and stuff, and she couldn’t she couldn’t speak even a sound, but she could shake her head yes and no. I said, ‘Jen, am I your dad,’ and she made a face like, ‘no.’ And then I’d ask about the boys, I’d mix up their names, like one middle name to another one,’” Means recalled.
With Flewellen’s newfound responsiveness, Means wasted no time in arranging speech therapy. And thus began the journey of recovery – a slow but steady process of regaining lost abilities, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
Despite the slim odds – GMA explains that only 2 to 3% of people in a vegetative state for that long ever wake up – Means remained determined to help her daughter reclaim her life.
Under Means’ tireless care, Flewellen underwent occupational, speech, and physical therapy, along with surgeries to address the stiffness that had set into her joints.
At the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, doctors marveled at the rarity of Flewellen’s case, acknowledged Means as a driving force behind scientific discovery.
While the extent of Flewwellen’s recovery remains uncertain, Means presses forward with love and determination, refusing to give up home.
Finally, at the age of 41, Flewellen returned home to say with Means, who had recently retired. Supported by her family, including her oldest son who moved in to help, Flewellen continues her journey toward recovery. Though the road ahead is long and uncertain, mother and daughter carry on with a mantra instilled by a nurse practitioner: “You have to dream it, then you have to believe it.”
And with Means’ boundless love and unwavering faith, they face the future together, one day at a time.
See more about this incredible story in the video of Good Morning America below:
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