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Man Who Survived After Being In Coma For 19 Years Dies Almost 20 Years After Waking Up

Home> News

Published 12:34 4 Apr 2022 GMT+1

Man Who Survived After Being In Coma For 19 Years Dies Almost 20 Years After Waking Up

Terry Wayne Wallis was just 19 when he got into the car accident that left him comatose

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A man who woke up in 2003 after getting into a car accident and spending 19 years in a coma has passed away at the age of 57.

A funeral for Terry Wayne Wallis was held on 1 April following his death at Advanced Care Hospital in Searcy, Arkansas on 29 March. Almost four decades earlier, Wallis got in a car accident just six weeks after the birth of his daughter, Amber, and remained in a coma for the following 19 years – the same amount of time Wallis had lived before getting into the accident.

All the while he received care from his mother, Angilee, and family members; his loved ones brought him home on alternate weekends for years, and doctors believe it is this stimulation that helped contribute to him waking up in 2003.

Wallis became known in the media as 'The Man Who Slept for 19 Years' after he opened his eyes and, less than a month later, regained his ability to speak.

According to an obituary written by Roller-Coffman Funeral Homes, Wallis enjoyed 'eating anything at anytime', drinking Pepsi and listening to live music. He is described as having loved to tease his sister and having a 'wonderful sense of humour', which will be 'greatly missed by his family'.

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Wallis was left a quadriplegic as a result of the car accident, which saw him and another passenger plunge into a creek. The pair were discovered under a bridge the following day, the Associated Press reported at the time, with Wallis's friend having passed away as a result of the crash.

Terry Wayne Wallis was just 19 when he got into a car crash.
Roller-Coffman Funeral Homes

His first word after waking up was 'mum', and before long he was able to say 'anything he want[ed] to say', Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Social Director Alesha Badgley said following Wallis's miraculous awakening.

Angilee Wallis passed away in 2018, but in 2003 she described her son's recovery as a 'miracle', saying: "I couldn’t tell you my first thought, I just fell over on the floor."

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Wallis's father, Jerry Wallis, described how it was as if time had stopped for his son when he suffered the accident, saying that when he woke up Wallis initially still believed Ronald Reagan was the president. He said Wallis remembered his grandmother's phone number, something the rest of the family forgot after her passing years earlier, and said his son was 'still back in 1984'.

Wallis is survived by his father, as well as his daughter Amber; grandchildren Victoria Wallis, Blazen Wallis and Arrow Wallis; his siblings, and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]  

Featured Image Credit: Roller-Coffman Funeral Homes

Topics: US News, Health, Life, Viral

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

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