It’s incredible when you think about just how fragile our lives are — not just in the physical sense. Most folks about their lives living day by day entrenched in familiar routines. However, tragedy often strikes us out of the blue, and when a loved one suddenly suffers a serious illness or injury, it can feel like our world’s been turned upside down in an instant. Danielle Hawkins experienced this horrible feeling in early 2015.
The Spectrum Health Beat reports, Danielle Hawkins was attending a class close to her Michigan hometown when she received the life-changing news. Danielle received an unexpected call from her husband, Scott. He was at home watching the kids, but she noticed something wasn’t right.
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Scott was speaking in a slurred voice that she could barely understand. When Danielle asked Scott what was wrong, he mentioned having a bad headache and feeling something was wrong. Both Danielle and Scott called 911, and the faithful wife rushed home to see about her husband. Later during an interview, Danielle admitted that she still found it difficult to talk about what happened that fateful day. Emergency services were soon on the scene and to take Scott to a local hospital.
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As they began loading him in the ambulance, Scott’s blood pressure suddenly started to spike, causing his lungs to flood with fluid.
Danielle was filling with dread. It was all happening so fast, and Scott never showed any signs of having a serious injury or illness. The situation started going downhill very fast, so much so that paramedics decided it best to put Scott on a mobile incubator while they rushed him to the hospital.
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Sadly, Danielle later learned that her nightmarish day would turn into several nightmarish months as Scott struggled to remain alive.
Not long after arriving at the hospital, the doctors who examined Scott took his wife aside and told her the heartbreaking news. Scott’s oxygen levels were dangerously low, and his doctors didn’t believe the odds for survival were in his favor. Danielle was warned that her husband would not likely survive through the night, advising her to contact family members so they could have a chance to say their goodbyes.
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The cause of Scott’s condition was later diagnosed as an aneurysm that burst close to his brain stem, which then caused a massive stroke. Scott then suffered a second heart attack while in the hospital just as his doctors were working to stem the bleeding in his brain.
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Scott did pull through that night, but he could not respond or follow directions in the days that followed. Doctors then told Danielle that it’s unlikely her husband would ever wake from his coma as his bodied took too much damage. They advised the loving wife that she should let him go in peace. However, Danielle wasn’t ready to give up!
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Instead of taking Scott off life support, Danielle leaned over and gave her comatose husband a soft kiss on his lips. But then a miracle happened when Scott began kissing her back! Startled, Danielle wasn’t sure if what happened was real or something she imagined. Nevertheless, the incident was enough to reignite hope in her heart.
Danielle decided to set aside the doctor’s medical advice and fought to keep Scott on life support. Soon, her instincts paid off, and five weeks later, her husband was able to breathe without the ventilator. But, Scott was still not able to speak, nor was he visibly responsive.
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That’s when Danielle had the idea that the intubation tube in his neck, one that was helping keep Scott alive by supplying oxygen to his lungs, might have been the problem. She decided to try something radical. She carefully placed her hand over the open airway, and soon Scott began drawing breath from his nose and mouth. But then something more incredible happened. Scott whispered the first words he’d said in weeks to his wife.
He said, “I love you,” before asking for a bit more pain medicine.
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Recovery took another 16 arduous weeks, but Scott was sent home, all thanks to his wife’s love, hope, and strength.
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However, Scott’s body still needed time to heal as the damage was severe. The man would require extensive physical therapy treatment to help him return to everyday life. And even today, in 2021, Scott’s not fully recovered, needing a helping hand every day.
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Since then, Danielle began a small business, crafting and selling handmade pottery, which folks can order online or buy in a few local stores in Michigan.
In her blog, Danielle wrote in March 2021 about why she decided to start a pottery business. She explained that she wished to continue to be Scott’s primary caregiver and needed a way to make income from home.
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You can also watch a heartwarming video about Danielle and Scott’s incredible story below.
God bless Scott and Danielle, two soulmates who will always be there for each other. If you enjoyed this story, please be sure to pass it along to your friends and family.