The decision to remove a loved one from life support when the prognosis is grim must be the most difficult decision a person could ever make.
When his wife Jill went into a coma, Ryan Finley was forced to make this decision for him.
Ryan found her unconscious and unable to breathe. He raced toward her before the emergency personnel arrived and did everything he could to help her regain consciousness.
He performed CPR and prayed despite knowing the likelihood of a successful outcome was low.
Jill’s heart was frail, and her breathing was slow, yet paramedics had the option to resurrect her.
She was swiftly flown to Oklahoma Heart Hospital in a suit that decreased her body temperature to minimise damage to her oxygen-starved brain. Sadly, she passed out and ended up in a coma.
Ryan would pray each day. However, the weeks went into days, and he was educated that Jill got no opportunity; he never lost trust. After that, he was asked if he would consider allowing the medical team to turn off her life support.
He wrote about that day in his diary, and to put it mildly, his words are heartbreaking.
“Today could be the worst day of my life. “I have to figure out if she will die,” Ryan wrote.
He called after trying to imagine Jill’s situation and concluding that she wouldn’t want to live like that.
Jill was still present when the machine was turned off, and the family said their goodbyes. She was going through the “final rally,” so the doctors said she wouldn’t die immediately.
Jill started meandering aimlessly at that exact second. To the surprise of her husband, who was going through a lot of heartbreak, she told him to get her out of there and take her to Ted’s or Melting Pot, two of her favourite Mexican restaurants.
Despite how absurd that seemed, Ryan was sure that his loved one would survive. He was right, as well. After recovering from heart surgery, Jill was able to breathe on her own.
Jill said she recalled nothing about her period in the unconsciousness yet experienced difficulty with her short memory and articulating a few expressions.
Aside from that, she was healthy and ready to take advantage of the second chance that God had given her.
