He Woke After 19 Years. His First Word Was “Mom”

In 1984, Terry Wallis from the United States was driving with friends when he lost control of his truck. The vehicle veered off the road and plunged straight into a creek. Tragically, his friend died instantly. Terry was pulled from the water still breathing, and rushed to the hospital. There, doctors delivered devastating news: Terry had suffered severe and irreversible brain damage. They believed he would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.

At the time, Terry was only 19 years old. He had just begun building his life. He was married and had a baby daughter at home. “We were devastated,” remembers his mother, Angilee. “He was so young, with everything ahead of him. And suddenly, everything shattered before our eyes.”

With no real options, the family admitted Terry to a rehabilitation center in Stone County, not far from their home. This way, they could visit him often during the week and bring him home on weekends. Life settled into a painful routine. Days turned into months, months into years. But Angilee never gave up hope.

And then, in 2003, nineteen years later, something extraordinary happened. Angilee was sitting beside her son’s bed, as she always did, when she noticed a flicker of movement. Terry opened his eyes and looked straight at her. She could hardly believe what happened next. “He focused his gaze on me, and then I heard it, his first word in 19 years: ‘Mom.’ I thought I was dreaming.”

Doctors were stunned. They had told the family there was no way he would ever recover. “It was a great miracle,” Angilee says, her voice full of emotion. From that moment on, Terry began slowly recovering. Within a few weeks, he was speaking more and even asked for Pepsi and milk.

After several months in the hospital, Terry was able to return home. Despite ongoing challenges, he began living once again with his wife and now-grown daughter. “When the accident happened, his daughter was just a baby. Now she’s a young woman,” Angilee shares. “Terry is amazed every time he sees how much she’s grown. He remembers many things from before the accident. He keeps telling her how beautiful she is, and she tells him how much she loves him and how happy she is to have her father back. It’s so moving to see.”

Angilee says this experience changed how she sees the world. “It taught me never to take anything for granted. Miracles don’t always look the way we expect. Sometimes they unfold slowly, quietly, but they’re happening all around us. Hashem is always working, even when we don’t see it right away.”