Life support withdrawn?

On April 24, 1999, pregnant Maria Lopez fell into a coma after complaining of headaches and nausea. Although doctors at the University of California Medical Center initially thought these were pregnancy symptoms, upon closer examination, they discovered that Maria had been born with an arteriovenous malformation, which caused the blood vessels in her brain to be malformed or tangled.

Medical staff decided to treat Maria Lopez with a procedure called embolization, which reduces blood flow to the brain. However, despite their combined efforts, Maria remained in a coma.

After three weeks of no improvement, doctors at the University of California Medical Center advised the Lopez family to consider ending Maria's life support. Sadly, the decision was made to do as the doctors advised, for the sake of Maria, who was still in a coma. A priest was called to administer last rites.

Then, as the priest was finishing the rites, Maria Lopez coughed.

The doctors did not want to show any lack of sympathy, but they told Maria's family, gathered around her bed during the last rites, that the cough was just a kind of reflex.

Still, the Lopez family interpreted their beloved Maria's reaction as a sign from God. Sylvia Hernandez, Maria's sister, said it was a sign that Maria wasn't ready to die and that she wanted her family to visit her more often. A few days later, Dr. John Frazee, a vascular neurosurgeon at the University of California Medical Center, was surprised when Maria awoke from her coma and responded to his commands. Dr. Frazee noted that whether Maria's cough was a sign from God or not, he had saved her life by convincing the Lopez family to continue life support.

A few days later, Maria spoke with Dr. Frazee and then fell back into a coma. Once again, her family refused to give up on her.

The good thing was that the Lopez family had a strong faith in God and in the possibility of their daughter's recovery. Maria woke up again, this time for good, and six days later she gave birth to healthy twins.

While doctors at the Medical Center said they could find no explanation for Maria Lopez's recovery, Dr. Scott Strum noted that numerous studies in the medical literature support the belief that a nurturing, loving and committed family is an important factor in the recovery process.