Fla. woman dies after 42 years in a coma

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 (305) 597-4404.