Phoenix: Live Love Laugh

What Is a Coma?

A coma is a deep state of unconsciousness where a person is alive but unresponsive. It’s often caused by severe illness or a brain injury. Most comas last between 2 to 4 weeks, but in rare cases, they extend longer. Mine lasted six.

My Last Normal Day: September 5, 2014

I remember September 5, 2014, like it was yesterday. It was my last normal day. On September 6, I experienced a severe sickle cell crisis, something I’ve battled my whole life. By September 9, 2014, I had slipped into a coma. That date is burned into my memory—my body shut down, and I went to sleep.

Some call it an anniversary. Others call it a re-birthday. I just call it grace.

Six Weeks Later, I Woke Up a Different Person

I was in a coma for six full weeks. Doctors didn’t expect me to survive. Even some family members prepared for the worst. But God had other plans.

When I finally woke up, nothing about me felt the same. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk. I had to relearn how to read, speak, and function. Two months in a rehab center were followed by two more months of in-home physical and speech therapy.

I had once been an Office Manager with a Master’s in Education—but now, even forming a sentence was hard.

People Often Ask Me…

Do you remember anything from the coma?
No. Nothing.

Did you see or hear anything while you were unconscious?
No. Just silence.

Were you in an accident?
No. I have Sickle Cell Disease.

What is sickle cell disease?
Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects hemoglobin—the protein in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen. Instead of round, flexible cells, people with this disease have sickle-shaped cells that block blood flow, causing pain, organ failure, and in my case, coma.

Answer: Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. People with this disorder have atypical hemoglobin molecules called hemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.

What Happened During the Coma?

During my coma, I experienced multiple TIAs (Transient Ischemic Attacks)—also known as mini-strokes. The blood flow to my brain was repeatedly blocked, causing bleeding. Miraculously, the bleeding stopped without surgery. But it left behind damage that I still live with today, including cognitive impairment.

To make matters worse, all my organs failed. I had to undergo kidney dialysis. Machines were keeping me alive. And yet, somehow—I made it.

Life After the Coma: The Miracle in the Mess

Today, I’m often called a miracle. But I like to say this:

“I am God’s miracle. I am His child. And I’ll go home when He says it’s time—not before.”

The pictures of me in the hospital still feel unreal. Even five years later, I sometimes look at them and feel disbelief. But the daily fight to live, heal, and adapt proves that it was all real.

Final Thoughts: My Ongoing Journey

Living life after a coma caused by a sickle cell crisis has not been easy. I still deal with memory loss, fatigue, and mental fog from my brain injury. But I’m here. I’m healing. And I’m telling my story to help someone else survive their storm.

If you’re going through something that feels impossible—don’t give up. Miracles still happen. I’m living proof.

💬 Let’s Connect

Have you or someone you know survived a coma or serious medical crisis? I’d love to hear your story. Drop a comment or message me privately. Let’s build a community of survivors.

Today, I want to Thank God for waking me up and all the lessons I have learned even though it was the hard way.

Thank you for showing me that when I am down to nothing LITERALLY, you are up to something.

Thank you for removing people in my life that I was not strong enough to remove.

Thank you for loving me unconditionally, when I thought no one loved me.

Thank you no allowing me space to give up.

Thank you for closing doors, that I did not know were not meant for me.

Thank you for opening doors, that I did not know I needed or wanted opened.

Thank you for showing me snakes in the grass,

Thank you for allowing me to trust you to handle wolves in sheep’s clothing,

Thank you for blessing, even when I did not ask you for a anything but you knew I needed it.

Thank you for shutting down my naysayers.

Thank for letting me know, accept and understand that I am your child and no weapon formed against me shall prosper.

Thank you for understanding me heart and my mind when I couldn’t read.

Thank you for allowing me to know you, because I always thought I knew you, but I never really knew you.

Thank you for not letting or allowing me to give up, because many days I cried out to you to let me go.

Thank you for daily strength to trust the process.

Thank you for giving me more chances without judgment, because somethings take me longer to learn.

Thank you for helping me work on my discernment spirit, because many times my willingness to forgive and accept gets me in trouble.

Thank you for not giving me everything I asked for but only what I need.

Thank you for answering my prayers even only in your time and not mine, because that balanced me out.

Thank you for rejection, because it has helped me build character and patience.

Thank you for letting me know I AM ENOUGH, so I can heal my heart from broken pieces of lies, cheaters, deception and emotional abused cause by others.

Thank you for renewing my faith daily, especially when my believe was in unbelief.

Thank you for giving me understanding and acceptance to believe I was created in your own image, so I can begin to love myself again.

Thank you letting me know my story, my testimony is not over, and that you still have work for me to do even if I question what, where and how, just know I believe with all my heart.