Fla. woman dies after 42 years in a coma

Edwarda O'Bara fell into a diabetic coma in 1970, and remained in a coma until her death on November 21, 2012. / WFOR?Family photo of Colleen O'Bara

MIAMI A Miami Gardens woman who slipped into a diabetic coma more than four decades ago and never awakened has died.

Edwarda O'Bara was a high school student in 1970 when she fell ill, threw up her medicine and slipped into a coma. She died last Wednesday after she spent 42 years in the coma, CBS Station WFOR reports.

Before she lost consciousness, O'Bara asked her mother, Kay O'Bara, to never leave her side.

Kay kept her promise, taking care of her daughter until she died five years ago. That's when Colleen O'Bara stepped in and continued taking care of her sister in her Miami Gardens home.

"She was the most generous person," Colleen said of Edwarda.

Kay O'Bara was a devout Catholic who said she felt the presence of the Virgin Mary in her daughter's room.

The O'Bara family has spent a lot of money over the years for Edwarda's care and are struggling to give her a proper burial. Anyone who can help the family is urged to contact Neighbors4Neighbors.org or call [phone].

[stu5960]

On Aug. 6, 1941, 6-year-old Elaine Esposito went to the hospital for a routine appendectomy. She went under general anesthetic and never came out. Dubbed the "sleeping beauty," Esposito stayed in a coma for 37 years and 111 days before succumbing in 1978 — the longest-ever coma, according to Guinness World Records.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1864940_1864939_1864913,00.html #ixzz2DPxw5GgE

[askagain]

My mother died in 1980 after suffering with cancer for a year. A home health care nurse was at her side at the time of my mother's death. Recognizing that my mother was about to die, the home health care nurse held my mother's hand and soothingly told my mother that my mother had done her job well as if saying it is OK to die. To me, this incident illustrated the compassion this nurse had for people with terminal illnesses. It is easy for me to understand how this family held out hope for over 40 years.

[VFR3000]

Religinon in ALL its forms is just total BS.

Its there to control the masses and the gullible.

As for the girl in a coma and here mum waiting by her side for all that time.

This is a mothers love and dedication to her daughter. It has nothing to do with any so called faith. The mother used the faith as a crutch for hope.

Religion used her for many years.

Its a sad sad story, such a poignant picture.
They are at peace. Hopefully her sister can now get on with her life.

And if she has any sense, avoid any form of religion....


Pope John Paul
x

[askagain]

You have stated your view. However, billions of people choose to disagree with you.

[stu5960]

42 years ? now they need money????

never heard of this "poor soul" before (being very sarcastic)
let see everything on the internet is real? Everything from the Molesters Church (fish eaters) catholic church has been so very honest...right?
now let see just send money, to... cover up whatnow??

If she's (the story) is real she was dead 42 years ago. never seen or heard a word about it.........wait it's all that rotten media's fault. Seriously get your head out of you a.. and get a real life, not some comic book life....

[hypnotoad72]

I may be a cynic, but good grief! The family valued this girl's life that they did everything to try to save it.

Now maybe there was a line or time when the plug should have been pulled. That's not my call to make.

[tmonta67]

Such misguided comments from people who don't know the true nature of God. He never said he would remove all suffering from our lives, but that He would give us his Grace and strength to get through it. Suffering also has a purpose: to bring us closer to Him, the Source. The closer we draw to Him, the less the darkness of this world can affect us, for this world--and these bodies--are temporary. Believers rest in the knowledge that all suffering on this earth will be turned to eternal joy.

[rheola-2009]

tmonta67

This God of yours, surely exists in your mind only, certainly not in fact.

I feel extremely certain. that you could not present the slightest amount of evidence, to indicate the existance of such a God, of course that is without resorting to hypothesis, which without any factional evidence is totally meaningless.

For example, we mostly were told when we were little people, that there were fairies at the bottom of the garden, however as we grew older, our degree of gullibility decreased, and as a result, we know there are no fairies at the bottom of the garden.

Most of us become adults, and cease to believe in fairy tales.

Humans with wings??????? now that is a good one.

[hypnotoad72]

I'm not a Catholic, but I'm certainly pro-life. Life also has a lot more going for it after one is born, but death pan... I mean insurance companies will even deny insurance to newborns, citing "preexisting conditions"...

But I will say this:

Suffering on earth (living) turns to eternal joy (death, where you might not know any better because you're not around to see it.) I might be wrong on that claim, but your story might not be right either. None of us will know until then, but most - even devout Christians - don't always equate "death" as being "joy".

[3green00]

Mother and daughter are together now, at peace. If there's the slightest chance she could wake, you can't give up on your child. I would do the same thing this mother did.

[hypnotoad72]

"peace" is a euphemism for death, or as we know it to be.

Why do humans choose to create for itself a harsh, insipid environment, full of euphemisms to justify the cruel acts and then to pawn it all off by saying "you now have peace, because you're dead"?

Food for thought, y'all.

[rheola-2009]

"Kay O'Bara was a devout Catholic who said she felt the presence of the Virgin Mary in her daughter's room."

With all due sympathy for all concerned in this tragic occurence, and the obvious remarkable care and attention given by the Obara family, one may ask, if in fact the so called Virgin? Mary was present, then I find it hard to understand why one of the many so called miracles?, did not occur, releasing that family from their obvious heartfelt agony.

Maybe miracles? only happen when other influences affect the health of the patient.

[steve5712]

aw come on. these poor people have been through a long and terrible ordeal. if they took comfort from these beliefs then it seems a small enough gesture to let them have it in peace. i admire their steadfastness in looking after this girl

[David Hoffman100]

40 years of unnecessary spending. They could have done the proper burial years ago. Let the Catholic Church pay for the faithfuls decisions to spent limited resources in this manner.

[hypnotoad72]

If she came out of the coma 39 years ago and was able to lead a normal life... the parents had faith things would get better.

Faith alone doesn't work.

And sometimes actions don't, either.

But would you try or would you just sit back and judge?

Maybe after a point, if I were in that position, I'd give up... but it wouldn't be an easy choice to make.

For some, any little chance is better than none. If you loved your offspring that much, would it really be so easy for you to say "40 years is unnecessary"? Really?