The world's longest coma patient, a Miami woman who had been called the 'Sleeping Snow White' during the 42 years she remained comatose, has died at the age of 59.
Edwarda O'Bara was a cheery high school student in 1970 when she suddenly fell ill, threw up her medicine and slipped into a diabetic coma.
But before she became comatose she turned to her mother and pleaded with her to 'promise ... you won't leave me.'
Her mother stayed true to her word, enduring a grueling schedule to constantly stay near her daughter until the mother died five years ago and the woman's sister became her primary care giver - until Edwarda passed away on Wednesday.
As a popular 16-year-old, Edwarda had a bright future ahead of her but then she became ill with a severe bout of pneumonia.
In the early hours of January 3 in 1970, she 'woke up shaking and in great pain because the oral form of insulin she had been taking wasn't reaching her blood stream,' according to her family.
She was rushed to hospital and as she lay in her bed, she turned to her mother, Kaye O'Bara, and pleaded with her to stay near.
'Promise me you won't leave me,' the teen begged her mother, according to the Miami Herald.
Terrified, O'Bara assured daughter, 'Of course not. I would never leave you, darling,' having no idea of the long ordeal ahead.
The mother kept that promise, taking care of her daughter, until Kaye O'Bara herself died five years ago.
Poor girl. Ive read that being kept alive in a coma is Torture.
First a lot of them can still hear whats going on around them.
And then Ive heard that the machine that helps them breath makes them feel like they are suffocating, only to be given breath at the last moment.
Poor girl. Ive read that being kept alive in a coma is Torture.
First a lot of them can still hear whats going on around them.
And then Ive heard that the machine that helps them breath makes them feel like they are suffocating, only to be given breath at the last moment.
Poor girl. Ive read that being kept alive in a coma is Torture.
First a lot of them can still hear whats going on around them.
And then Ive heard that the machine that helps them breath makes them feel like they are suffocating, only to be given breath at the last moment.
Omfg. I'mma leave a note not to put me in coma....
Imagine being in a coma at 16 and waking up 42 years later... horrifying
I can't even imagine! I mean, would her mentality still be of a 16 yr old? She'd pretty much would have to start over and begin life like a little child, re-learning the simple things like walking and talking and even how to see again!
This is so depressing. I would want a time limitation put on me if I slipped into a coma, like wait a certain amount of time to see if I come out of it and if I don't then let go.
I couldn't imagine hearing my family speak to me and not being able to speak back, or even open a eyelid
Im sure I would become insane after the first month, let alone 40 years!
and that picture... 
