People often say laughter is the best medicine.
So when Peggy Means went to visit her daughter in the hospital, she told the woman a joke.
When she laughed, it was pure shock – Jennifer Flewellen had been in a coma for more than five years.
Flewellen had been returning home from dropping her three sons off at school, when for unknown reasons her car left the road and hit a utility pole. Police said neither speed nor alcohol played a role in the crash.
From that moment, Flewellen remained in a coma, not able to speak or move. Means stayed by her daughter’s side, visiting nearly every day, praying Flewellen would wake up. She would sing and talk to her daughter, and take her on walks in a wheelchair in an attempt to keep Flewellen engaged.
When it’s your child, you just never give up,” Means said.
“I just believed she was in there. When you have brain damage, if I had just let her lay there and let her have no stimulation, the brain will die,” she said. “(Jennifer) had to have stimulation, so I had to fight a lot of nurses and aids to get her up, get her in her chair, talk to her.”
Doctors didn’t believe Flewellen would wake up.
“This is so rare,” Dr. Ralph Wang, Flewellen’s physician, said. “Not just waking up, but making progress. Maybe 1-3% of patients wake up and make progress this far out.”
So Means, who hasn’t divulged the joke that sparked the laugh, said that she was stunned when it happened.
“When she woke up, it scared me at first because she was laughing and she had never done that,” Means said. “Every dream came true. Today’s the day I said, ‘That door that was closed, that kept us apart, had just opened. We were back.'”
Since that laugh, the journey has been long and slow for Flewellen.
“She woke up, but she didn’t completely. She couldn’t speak, but she was nodding,” Means said “She would still sleep a lot right at first, but then as the months would go by, she would get stronger and be more awake.”
Recently, the strong-willed mom was able to attend a senior night football celebration with her youngest son, Julien. During her time in the coma, her other two sons had already graduated from high school.
“She was my biggest supporter,” Julian said.
So to have my biggest supporter back on the sidelines cheering me on, it was a surreal moment.”
With all the attention on her waking up, Flewellen was given a bed at Mary Free Bed, a rehabilitation hospital in Niles.
While she can only put a few words together, Flewellen will enthusiastically nod yes or no to questions, and can sit up nearly straight in her bed. Her mom even got her a kitten, naming it Huey – a word with a unique sound that requires Flewellen to practice her speech even with a pet.
Jenn Flewellen with her cat Huey. Photo courtesy of Peggy Means
Dr. Wang said she has come farther than anyone expected.
“If she can take a few steps, feed herself and communicate more, those would be huge wins,” he said. “Both she and her mom are wonderfully driven. In six months, if she was a 10 before, if we can get her to a four or five. That would be tremendous.”
During a recent interview, Means asked her daughter, “are you going to do therapy and work hard? You’re getting stronger, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Flewellen said.
“What do you want to tell everyone that helped you get here?” Means asked.
“Thank you,” Flewellen said.
Such simple words with five years of hope and love helped to cultivate.
Watch below to see Flewellen attend her son’s senior night at his football game.
