Lyndee Brown Pellettiere-Swapp, 45, was discovered unconscious at her Arizona home by her son Steven. Lyndee was taken to Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center after he promptly dialed 911. Lyndee had convulsions for five days before falling into a coma, where she stayed for 12 days.
Lyndee’s husband, Steve, daughter Amanda, and son, Steven, hoped for a miracle, yet doctors stated there was nothing further they could do and advised Lyndee to be taken off life support. The difficult choice was made to cut the cord in order to respect what the family believed were Lyndee’s wishes. Her family knows she is an avid organ donor, so when her organs began to fail, they made the choice. Lyndee said afterwards that it was time to make that decision.
Lyndee’s family arrived to say their last goodbyes, unaware that Lyndee heard every word. She recalls people chatting to her, Lyndee said. She recalls her niece reading to her when visitors came to visit. She also recalls the physicians discussing her approaching death and informing the family of what to expect when she died.
Doctors warned her family that she would start to make sounds when they switched off life support. It was quite upsetting. She was unable to move and couldn’t speak or answer. All she could hear were discussions around and about her, Lyndee said. She recalls a doctor opening her eyelids, messing with her, and telling her family she wasn’t responding.
Lyndee felt she needed to speak out to save her life, yet she tried and failed. The words her husband bent down and murmured in her ear, believing she was about to depart this world, gave her all the strength she required.
They withdrew all tubes as he asked, she claimed, noting that a doctor was on standby to “pronounce her dead” and an organ donation team was ready to receive her organs. Her husband, Steve, was not prepared for his wife to leave him. Steve pleaded with Lyndee in hushed tones, reminding her of a fact she was going to make everyone else aware of.
Lyndee awoke from a coma after 12 days, saying three words that startled her whole family. “I’m a fighter,” she managed to answer after Steve told her the truth. She was eventually able to get out ‘I’m a fighter,’ which was what her husband was saying in her ear, Lyndee said of the moment she awoke from her coma after being taken off life support. He continued repeating to her that he needs her to fight.
Steve, startled, ran to seek the doctor. Against all odds and medical projections, Lyndee was awake and responsive. Amanda arrived at the hospital, not grasping what was going on and believing her mother had died.
Amanda cried as she described how she broke down after experiencing the shock of her life. Lyndee was ultimately discharged from the hospital, but she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Despite her remarkable recovery, she had a variety of health issues and difficulties.
Lyndee had to relearn how to walk and feed herself. She also had multiple follow-up operations and hospitalizations, and she suffered from PTSD as a result of the ordeal.
Lyndee Brown Pellettiere-Swapp still had “no answers” over two years later about why she initially went unconscious or how she recovered so quickly. Yet there was one thing she was convinced of and wanted others to know as well. She said that just because one is unconscious doesn’t mean one can’t hear. If one is in such a scenario, one should chat with one’s loved ones. They are aware of their presence.
#MUSTWATCH: Imagine making the painful decision take your unresponsive loved one off of life support…and they survive! This is Lyndee's story. She was in a coma, but what her family and doctors didn't know is she could hear discussions, even the ones doctors had with her family about the process of dying. Feel free to share.
Posted by YettaGibson on Thursday, 3 March 2016
Her family’s experience also left them with an important message for others. Lyndee’s son, Steven, said that everything is subject to removal. One might wake up one day and everything is perfect, and the next day one’s life is a shambles. He advised keeping one’s family close and not allowing them to leave. Steven concluded that he does not take coming home and kissing his mother for granted. Every day when he goes home from work, he sees her and chats with her. Go embrace one’s loved ones and encourage others to do the same since one never knows when it may be one’s final opportunity.
