When young people get married, they often think they have a lot of time to build their lives and grow together. You never know what will happen in life, though, and things can happen that you didn’t expect.
When Ryan Finley got out of bed on a Saturday morning in May 2007, it felt like any other day. He looked at the time and decided it was time to wake up Jill Finley, his wife.
He remembered later, “I went to wake Jill up, which is strange because I never do that on Saturday mornings.”
She didn’t answer when he yelled her name. He shook her awake because he was shocked, but she still didn’t move. That’s when he began to feel scared and nervous. Ryan called 911 right away and started CPR on his wife at the same time.
As soon as the rescuers arrived, they quickly put her in an ambulance and drove her to the hospital. His truck followed the ambulance right behind it.
The doctors checked Jill’s health when they got to the hospital and found that she had had a cardiac arrest.
While Jill was getting some important medical care to get better, Ryan waited outside the emergency room and checked in on his wife every so often.
The doctor told Ryan to pray when he finally came out to talk to him about his wife. Ryan knew things were very bad because he said, “When a doctor tells you to start praying, you know things are pretty bad.”
Soon after, Ryan’s wife was put into a coma by doctors. He was shocked to learn that his 31-year-old wife was in a tough spot between life and death.
A lot of people came to see Jill and Ryan while she was in a coma for two weeks to show their support. A cousin of Jill even came with a Bible. It took him about an hour to read parts of it to Jill.
Ryan was given the Bible and told to read whatever parts he liked. Ryan began reading his wife parts of the Bible and hoping she would wake up from that day on.
Ryan chose to spend some time alone at home after Jill had been in a coma for 11 days. He wasn’t sure if he should follow the doctors’ advice and turn off Jill’s life support. The doctors told him to think about turning off her life support because they didn’t think she would get better.
He knew this might mean Jill didn’t have much time left, but the next day he told the doctors to turn off the machines that were keeping her alive. They took away her life support on the 14th day that she had been in a coma.
Jill started to move and mumble about five hours after she was taken off of life support. Ryan couldn’t stand to see what he thought were his wife’s last moments, so he went outside to wait until she was gone.
The nurse came out and told him, “I think you need to come in, she’s talking.” He remembers the next few seconds very well.
When he walked into the room, he planned to have one last talk with his wife. It’s clear to him that as soon as he walked in, Jill began talking. “I need to leave this place,” was the first thing she said. “All I want to do is go home.”
Ryan was shocked by what he heard, but he wasn’t sure if she was awake or just talking in her sleep. He then asked her a bunch of questions that could only be answered by someone who was awake. He asked them what their pets were named and gave them some hard math questions. She got all of them right, which surprised him. Then she offered that they have dinner at her favorite Mexican place.
Later, Jill said she couldn’t remember how long she was in a coma; it felt like she was gone for a while and then came back. In an interview, Ryan was asked what he thought helped bring his wife back. He quickly said, “God.” It was a sign from God. I really believe that.”
Things didn’t go back to normal right away after Jill woke up. She had to start over and do simple things like tying her shoelaces and brushing her teeth as if she had never done them before.
They see this as a fresh start for their relationship and their lives, and they will stay together no matter what. Jill thinks Ryan did the right thing when he took her off of life support because she wouldn’t want to feel like a “vegetable” all the time.
All of that has made Ryan still feel worried and scared. He always looks around to make sure she’s still with him. “I wake up every night,” he says. When I give her a little kick, I know everything is okay if she kicks me back.
You wouldn’t believe how often life gives you a second chance. All of us are thrilled that Ryan and Jill Finley are healthy and happy.
