Terry Wayne Wallis, the Arkansas man who spent 19 years in a coma before waking up and regaining his ability to speak in 2003, has died, according to a report by NBC News. He was 57.
The Big Flat native was involved in a car accident in 1984, resulting in Wallis going into a coma six weeks after the birth of his daughter. He had been riding with a friend when their vehicle veered off the road and went straight down into a creek.
Wallis suffered a severe head injury following the crash, while his friend was killed because of the accident. Wallis was minimally conscious, but his doctors feared the worst, believing he would remain in a comatose state forever.
Wallis utters 'Mom' after waking up from coma
To their surprise, Wallis regained awareness nearly two decades after the car crash. Wallis stunned doctors and family members after he started talking. Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center social director Alesha Badgley told the BBC shortly after Wallis woke up that he began with the word "Mom" and later surprised her by asking for Pepsi and milk.
His vocabulary widened after that, with Wallis saying anything he wanted to say. Wallis' father, Jerry, said that his son had improved every day since he uttered his first word. Wallis' mother, Angilee, called her son's return to consciousness a miracle, saying, "I couldn't tell you my first thought; I just fell over on the floor."
Wallis' wife, Sandi, was also delighted with her husband's miraculous recovery, saying the whole family had missed his company. Sandi noted that it was hard to deal with the accident and realize that the man she married couldn't be there.
The car crash left Wallis unable to use his limbs. Even though he became a quadriplegic because of the accident, Wallis said he wanted to walk again for his daughter, Amber, who was already 19 years old when he woke up from the coma.
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Wallis' world stopped after the 1984 car crash
According to doctors at the rehabilitation center, Wallis's surprise recovery might be partly due to his family taking him out on special occasions and weekends. Sandi said that the doctor told them that those outdoor activities might have kept his mind going, and that is why he still remembers things.
Wallis might have remembered things in the past, but his world also stopped with the accident. According to a report by KARK, Wallis believed Ronald Reagan was still president of the United States when he woke up. He also requested a call to his grandmother, who had died several years earlier, with Wallis even reciting her phone number from memory.
According to the obituary published by Roller Funeral Homes, Wallis' remarkable story was the source of numerous medical and news articles over the years. He even became known to people worldwide as "The Man Who Slept for 19 Years."
