December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

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While in a coma for three months, Emily was comforted continually by family members such as her sister Sarah.
When Emily awoke, she regained strength and ability gradually with the help of therapists (above and right).
in heartfelt prayer. Sister Jensen says, “We offered again
and again our broken hearts to our Father in Heaven, all
the while trying to muster the courage and trust and faith
to say, ‘Thy will be done, whatever that is.’ ”
While Emily lay in a coma, family, friends,
and ward members rallied around her, giving
up their time and sleep to be with her. Some
medical professionals believed Emily would
remain in a coma for life, but those who loved
her still hoped and asked the Lord for her
coma to end.
A Daily Marathon
Three months later, Emily began the slow
process of awakening from her coma. Sister
Jensen explains, “Emily didn’t even have a
baby’s reflexes when she came out of her coma—she
couldn’t even swallow. She’d been lying on a bed so long
they had to put her on a board and raise her just a few
inches at a time to get her body used to being in an
upright position. She breathed through a tracheostomy
and was fed through tubes. It took her months just to
learn to hold her head up. She had to learn to sit and
crawl and stand and walk.”
Once I had
made up
my mind to
gain my life back,
the Spirit enveloped
me so that the pain
was less, and I had
a sense of being on
the mission the Lord
had sent me here
to perform.”
But Emily was determined. She says, “Once I had made
up my mind to gain my life back, the Spirit enveloped me so
that the pain was less, and I had a sense of being on the mission
the Lord had sent me here to perform.”
One of Emily’s doctors and a close friend
from her ward, Vera Frances Tait, compares
Emily’s hard work during her long rehabilitation
process to “a cognitive and physical
marathon” that she has had to fight daily.
Dr. Tait says of her patient, “Throughout
this terrible ordeal, she has maintained
hope, discipline, a love of learning, and a
sense of humor. In 20 years of working in
rehabilitation, I have rarely seen anyone as
determined and hardworking as Emily.” But
Emily is quick to give credit to the Lord for
her recovery. She points out, “From the beginning the
Lord was with me. I am nothing without Him.”
Back to School
After six months in the hospital, Emily returned home
and started school again during her junior year. Because
fatigue is a major problem for people who have traumatic
head injuries, the doctors encouraged Emily to stay at