Seeing your loved ones in a coma can be the most emotionally devastating thing any human being could experience in their lifetime. The loved ones of the person in the coma, never truly know whether their family member or friend will regain consciousness. We often hear people either keeping their loved ones on life supporting machinery for decades, while some take them off life support machines after a short while.A case has come up, which involves the coma patient who has been on life support for the longest duration of any human being in history. Edwarda O’ Bar, who was a woman living in Florida, has been in a comatose state since 42 years. She unfortunately passed away at the age of 59.

Edwarda was a high spirited and cheerful 16 year old student in high school, who unexpectedly fell ill with a severe case of pneumonia. The young high school student was immediately taken to the hospital. As she lay in her hospital bed, before slipping into the comatose state, she turned to her mother and made her promise that she would never leave her side.The young woman’s mother fulfilled her promise to her daughter and stayed by her side till her death a couple of years back, after which the woman’s sister whose name was Colleen stepped in, to take care of her sister. Colleen claims that her sister has taught her to love unconditionally and also to be patient in life. Edwarda sadly passed away on 21 November 2012.'

The woman’s mother whose name was Kaye O’ Bara was said to have taken care of her daughter round the clock for 35 years. Colleen reports that the mother only slept for 90 minutes at a time, so that she could completely tend to any needs of her daughter. She also reports that the financial costs of keeping Edwarda on life support was extremely challenging for the family.Kaye, who took care of her daughter till her death at the age of 80, was always hopeful that her daughter would one day wake up from her comatose state. Edwarda’s father, whose name was Joe, had passed away in 1977 after suffering a heart attack. The family believes that this was caused by the strain of taking care of his daughter.

Family and friends would often visit Edwarda, and would often sing songs to her, read books aloud in the room and also talk to her as if she was actually listening and would respond to them. A book has also been written about the mother’s undying love for her child and once the media caught wind of this, the family gained widespread recognition and support for their cause. Philanthropists from all around the world came to visit the comatose woman, and offer encouragement and support to her family.

Edwarda passed away while her sister had gone to get a cup of coffee; she reports that before leaving for her coffee, she saw a smile on her sister’s face. Colleen has made peace with the passing of her sister and believes she is in a better place now, with her mom and dad.

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