Coma Woman Awakens After 6 Years, Relapses

Doctors called it a miracle: A Southern Colorado woman, in a vegetative state for more than six years, talked for the first time. But the miracle was short-lived.

Christa Lilly has since relapsed.

Minnie Smith, her mother and chief caregiver, has tended to Lilly who suffered a heart attack and stroke in November 2000.

"Every morning," said Smith, "I always check on her when I wake up, before I go to the bathroom. I always say, 'Hi baby, how are you doing?' She said, 'I'm fine' and that's when I knew she was awake."

The last time Lilly was aware of the world around her, Bill Clinton was in office. When she slipped into a vegetative state — which is essentially like a coma, but with the eyes open — Lilly was unconscious and unaware of her surroundings.

Now, for the first time in six and a half years, she was alert and talking. "I think it's wonderful. It makes me so happy," Lilly told KKTV.

Lilly had awakened four other times for briefer periods since 2000, but never with the clarity evident this week.

Lilly was surprised to find out her youngest daughter is now 12, and that she is a grandmother — the oldest of her grandchildren is 6.

Her neurologist, Dr. Randall Bjork, said he couldn't explain how or why she awoke.

"This is a miracle," exclaimed Lilly's neurologist, Dr. Randall Bjork. He said he's as surprised as everyone else. "This is all mystical and I can't explain it."

Before her relapse on Wednesday, Lilly told KKTV her biggest frustration was learning how to talk again.

After years of being fed from a tube, eating was no problem. "I've been eating cake," she said.

Following her relapse, Dr. Bjork said Christa is minimally conscious, a slightly better state than other notable cases like Terry Schiavo. He said she could awaken again.

But information about her condition is minimal. "We do not have a name for this," Bjork said, "but I'll call it 'cyclical awakenings.'"

Smith says there is some small consolation when she has to say goodbye to her daughter again.

"The good Lord let me know she's alright, he brings her back to visit every so often and I'm thankful for that," Smith said.

"Hopefully, next time she comes out it will be for good, to stay." She said.

In the meantime, Minnie will continue caring for Christa: doing what a mother does best. "I never gave up on my daughter and I never will," she said.