Woman Wakes Up after a 20-Year Long Coma | Only Human

[Music] Serah Scantlin defied medical convention when she woke after being in a coma-like State for 20 years her friends and family had given up all hope that she would return to them doctors had told them she was lost forever we know that after about a year you've kind of reached a plateau in your recovery process there are small changes that can sometimes be a significant availing members but they are minimal it's a lot like somebody very dear to you dies it's the day before the funeral and you never get to go but incredibly Sarah awoke after 20 years never before in medical history has somebody been in a coma-like State for so long and started speaking again Laurie Shockley is Sarah's best friend they met at the local high school I had been friends with Sarah since sixth grade we immediately hit it off we became best of friends almost sisters if you will for the last 20 years Laurie has been making the three-hour journey to visit Sarah from her home in Kansas City until recently these visits were the cause of great sadness as she was always greeted by silence over the course of the 20 years I saw very little changes in Sarah every time I went to see her I didn't expect to go in and see anything different and that's one of the things I had to deal with in my own mind is this is as good as it gets now that sarah has woken Laura's best friend has been returned to her what's new about me today yeah am i no cuz that would make you old to Sarah that's funny did you notice I got new glasses yeah do you know why I have new glasses cuz I'm getting off yeah yeah I am that's alright I don't care 20 years in a coma have dramatically affected Sarah's body her joints have seized and her voice is slurred as she is using muscles that have laid dormant for two decades after 20 years of walking into her room to stone cold silence to walk in her room and to hear and say hi Laurie the Sarah that's that's here and with us today is very much the same Sarah that was with us 20 years ago she can talk to you and she can answer you and she can tell you when she's mad and if you write her a letter she'll read every word of it and those are the things that inspire me who's your best friend you who's my best friend he loved you so much Sara and Lori have a close friendship that has lasted nearly 30 years but it is a relationship that was to change forever on one tragic evening in the autumn of 1984 I remember looking up and telling myself that it wasn't gonna be that bad she was gonna be okay she was gonna be okay and my next thought process was I needed to call her mom immediately [Music] sarah Scantlin amazed the medical community when she started speaking after being in a comatose state for 20 years since Sarah first started talking in January 2005 improvement has been a slow and hard-fought battle but one which she is fighting with extraordinary determination you're look really really nice today today is her father's birthday and she has prepared a surprise for him bless your heart that's alright that's alright this is the first time that Jim has heard his daughter sing happy birthday in 22 years happy birthday I'll tell Bob you sing happy birthday to me okay [Music] the financial strain of looking after sarah has left her parents almost bankrupt they have sold the family home and live on a trailer park with the remainder of their possessions and memories of happier times [Music] there Sarah in her glory in high school who's your chain picture her Farrah Fawcett hair cut this is my favorite right here and she was probably five didn't picture this was 16 those are all the high school pictures her senior dance our senior prom life was a wonderful figure I never never saw her death in 1984 18 year old Sarah started college it was the beginning of her adult life Sarah's attitude for life was vibrant and she was funny and she had many many friends she was always there for everybody [Music] early in her first term Saira was selected for the college cheerleading squad for Dragon dolls I immediately liked her a lot because she was vivacious friendly and outgoing she was one of those people that just captured your heart and I could tell that all the other girls liked her as well on September the 22nd the girls went out to celebrate we had gone out to the local bar called tappers we were just me and college kids and partying and having a good time [Music] as tappers closed that night we were walking out to the car and I was in front of Sara the next thing I can recall is me getting pulled down out of the way and I saw Sara's body in the air and knew immediately she'd been hit by a car and while she was still in the air another car from the other direction [Music] sheelane she lay lifeless in the middle of the road like a rag doll and my next thought process was I needed to call her mom immediately it was Lori and she was crying and she said mom Sara's been hurt Sara's injuries were so serious that she had to be airlifted to a specialist emergency hospital 40 miles away in Wichita sara is now a 41 year old woman but she still has the same love of makeup that she did as a teenager pink yeah that color alright for your blush the reality is that Sarah still believes she is a teenager people who have woken from long-term comas often have a distorted view of the passage of time tell me your date of birth May 2nd which year 1966 yeah tell me how old you are 19 mm I don't think she really grasped the time thing I think that in this 20 years seems like yesterday to her she just looks in question like how is this possible that you have four children and you can tell there's a question there in her mind that she just can't quite put it together the idea that someone suddenly wakes up from a coma and is normal again is only what you see in television dramas you have your your old memories from many years ago that are ingrained in your head but the recent new learning tends to be a struggle [Music] since she woke up sarah has shocked everybody by describing what she experienced during those 20 years are you all fixed up now will you look nice how could you here how was your yeah but you couldn't say as well Sarah also claims to remember events that happened while she was in her coma do you remember about what somebody says 9/11 does that there's a bad deal what hit those buildings through a plane exactly what did it do up to a lot of people based on this apparent level of awareness doctors now believes that Sarah was in what is called the minimally conscious state or MCS the minimally conscious state is a state in which there is some early evidence of recovery some attempt to communicate on the patient's part some evidence of purposeful action clearly there was a lot of sensory intake coming in she just wasn't able to express outwardly what was going on mcs is a recently described condition there was no name for it when Sarah first fell into her coma this formation of a new diagnosis was controversial it raised the specter that patients like Sarah had been written off too quickly can you imagine having a high level or a level of awareness and not being able to express and I said to me it would be like being you everyone use a kid and you have a nightmare and you couldn't quite get out of it after 20 years asleep Sarah's emergence was not a fairytale ending she is still suffering the effects of her severe injuries now her challenge is to see how far she can recover click on-screen for more videos of extraordinary humans you

Channel: Only Human

Views: 10,726,183

Keywords: Only Human, coma awakening after decades, coma awakening miracle, enduring coma journey, incredible coma survival, incredible medical journey, inspirational coma awakening, inspiring coma awakening, long sleep awakening story, medical marvels documentary, medical miracle documentary, miraculous coma awakening, overcoming medical odds, real-life sleeping beauty, triumph over coma, triumphant coma recovery, woman awakens from deep sleep, woman wakes from long coma

Id: iPXyz6FBM4U

Length: 12min 41sec (761 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 23 2019