Comatose Since Christmas 1969: A Tale of Unconditional Love and Miracles

CNN ^ | 12/23/12 | Wayne Drash

[marshmallow]

(CNN) -- Colleen O'Bara bathed her older sister, Edwarda, and fixed her hair. She fed her through a feeding tube like she'd done countless times. It was going to be a good day, the day before Thanksgiving.

With her morning routine complete, Colleen planned to fetch a cup of coffee. She bent down and kissed her big sister, told her she'd be right back.

"She gave me the biggest smile she has ever given me in her life," Colleen recalls. "Her face was aglow. There was a sparkle in her eyes."

But just then, Edwarda closed her eyes.

For 42 years, her family held vigil. They awaited the day Edwarda would awake, the miracle that never came.

At the age of 59, Edwarda died, believed by medical experts to have lived longer than anyone in a comatose state.

Her father, Joe, died six years after she fell into her diabetic coma, the strain of working three jobs to pay her medical bills too much. Her mother, Kathryn, had promised to never leave her side; she died in 2008 after caring for Edwarda for 38 years.

Former President Bill Clinton, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, singer Neil Diamond and other celebrities visited the home over the years. Renowned self-help author Wayne Dyer penned a book, "A Promise Is A Promise," about Kathryn's unconditional love.

Thousands of people -- from Japan to Australia, from Italy to Canada -- took the pilgrimage to the O'Bara home, inspired by the devotion of her mother. They were drawn too because they believed Edwarda had miracle healing powers: A woman with an inoperable brain tumor was cancer-free months after she touched Edwarda. Two girls with cystic fibrosis were apparently healed in the months after visiting her room. Even skeptics said they felt a strange aura when they......

[gettinolder]

Wow!, incredible story. Lot’s of pictures too.

Thanks!

[A.A. Cunningham]

Hard to believe that this was posted at CNN. Although from reading the comments there it may have been done to elicit those kinds of responses.

[momtothree]

I remember reading about this story maybe twenty or so years ago (?). Sad story but the family dedicated their lives to her. If I recall correctly, a lot of people would visit her and make it a “pilgrimage” of sorts. The Mom, Dad and daughter are all together now...

[Mrs. Don-o]

I can't bear to read ANY responses in ANY com boxes related to ANY mainstream media outlet. None. Nada. The level of cruelty and imbecility is staggering. It is so sad that some people live to smear excrement across whatever media environment they infest.

Thanks be to God for this family, and their smiling Silent One. Thanks be to God for the Saints, who are bearers of wondrous love.

[A.A. Cunningham]

I would like to ask those there who are advocating that Edwarda should have been, in effect, executed, how they feel about capital punishment.

They will have much to answer for during their particular judgments and what a rude awakening it will be.