December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
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32<br />
While in a coma for three months, Emily was comforted continually by family members such as her sister Sarah.<br />
When Emily awoke, she regained strength and ability gradually with the help <strong>of</strong> therapists (above and right).<br />
in heartfelt prayer. Sister Jensen says, “We <strong>of</strong>fered again<br />
and again our broken hearts to our Father in Heaven, all<br />
the while trying to muster the courage and trust and faith<br />
to say, ‘Thy will be done, whatever that is.’ ”<br />
While Emily lay in a coma, family, friends,<br />
and ward members rallied around her, giving<br />
up their time and sleep to be with her. Some<br />
medical pr<strong>of</strong>essionals believed Emily would<br />
remain in a coma for life, but those who loved<br />
her still hoped and asked the Lord for her<br />
coma to end.<br />
A Daily Marathon<br />
Three months later, Emily began the slow<br />
process <strong>of</strong> awakening from her coma. Sister<br />
Jensen explains, “Emily didn’t even have a<br />
baby’s reflexes when she came out <strong>of</strong> her coma—she<br />
couldn’t even swallow. She’d been lying on a bed so long<br />
they had to put her on a board and raise her just a few<br />
inches at a time to get her body used to being in an<br />
upright position. She breathed through a tracheostomy<br />
and was fed through tubes. It took her months just to<br />
learn to hold her head up. She had to learn to sit and<br />
crawl and stand and walk.”<br />
Once I had<br />
made up<br />
my mind to<br />
gain my life back,<br />
the Spirit enveloped<br />
me so that the pain<br />
was less, and I had<br />
a sense <strong>of</strong> being on<br />
the mission the Lord<br />
had sent me here<br />
to perform.”<br />
But Emily was determined. She says, “Once I had made<br />
up my mind to gain my life back, the Spirit enveloped me so<br />
that the pain was less, and I had a sense <strong>of</strong> being on the mission<br />
the Lord had sent me here to perform.”<br />
One <strong>of</strong> Emily’s doctors and a close friend<br />
from her ward, Vera Frances Tait, compares<br />
Emily’s hard work during her long rehabilitation<br />
process to “a cognitive and physical<br />
marathon” that she has had to fight daily.<br />
Dr. Tait says <strong>of</strong> her patient, “Throughout<br />
this terrible ordeal, she has maintained<br />
hope, discipline, a love <strong>of</strong> learning, and a<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> humor. In 20 years <strong>of</strong> working in<br />
rehabilitation, I have rarely seen anyone as<br />
determined and hardworking as Emily.” But<br />
Emily is quick to give credit to the Lord for<br />
her recovery. She points out, “From the beginning the<br />
Lord was with me. I am nothing without Him.”<br />
Back to School<br />
After six months in the hospital, Emily returned home<br />
and started school again during her junior year. Because<br />
fatigue is a major problem for people who have traumatic<br />
head injuries, the doctors encouraged Emily to stay at