Woman wakes from coma after husband plays their wedding song, Unchained Melody
A FAMILY was overjoyed when a mother-of-four woke from a coma after her husband played her their wedding song.
Doctors told the family of 48-year-old Maria Neal that there was nothing more that could be done for her when she suffered a severe stroke.
As the mother-of-four from Chalk, near Gravesend in Kent, lay motionless on a life support machine, her family feared the worst as they gathered around her bed.
But devoted husband Steve decided to make one last effort to bring his wife around.
The 46-year-old played her he Righteous Brothers' 1965 hit Unchained Melody, the couple's wedding song.
Her daughter Krystie, 20, explained: "My mum was touching death's door. My dad took me and my three brothers and fiancé to kiss my mum goodbye for the last time.
"After undergoing a major operation on her brain, my family was told to 'plan for the worst and hope for the best' as her life hung in the balance."
"Dad downloaded their wedding songs onto his phone and played them to mum with tears rolling from his face onto hers. This broke my heart."
Steve played several of the couple's wedding songs in the hope it might revive his beloved wife after doctors warned them her prospects were bleak.
Dad downloaded their wedding songs onto his phone and played them to mum with tears rolling from his face onto hers
Steve said: "She was on life support and the doctors said they could do nothing more for her.
"They had sent her brain scans to King's College Hospital in London, but if they would not take her that would be it - game over.
"I took the kids in to say goodbye. That was the worst thing I have ever done in my life."
Miraculously the next day Maria began to show signs of regaining consciousness.
Krystie said: "The day after, she started to move her right arm and a couple of days after this she started nodding.
"After ten days in the intensive care unit, she was breathing without a ventilator, talking and sipping water."
Doctors at King's agreed to admit Maria and she underwent brain surgery.
She has now been moved to a specialist stroke rehabilitation centre in Gravesend and is able to return home for brief periods.
Kyrstie added: "To come as far as she has, the doctors and consultants have called her a 'miracle' and she's our miracle."
The family says she has come on in leaps and bounds since her medication was changed and although the left side of her body is still weak, her memory is improving.
The Neals have now launched a £30,000 appeal to pay for their home to be adapted for their mother's needs once she is allowed home permanently.
Steve added: "No one has actually said what the prognosis is long-term, but three medical professionals have each said she is a miracle".
