Doctors Tell Wife To Pull Plug On Husband, She Kisses Him — Then Covers His Throat

Aug 09, 2021 by apost team

It's always a horrible moment when you find out somebody you love suffers from a serious illness. It's even more tragic and horrifying when the illness has a sudden onset and catches everybody completely unaware. Something like this happened to Danielle Hawkins and her husband Scott Hawkins in early 2015.

According to Spectrum Health Beat, Danielle Hawkins was at a class near her hometown in Michigan when she received the news that would change her life. Her husband Scott called her unexpectedly. He was home with their children when she received that fateful call that turned her world upside down. 

He was talking with a slurred, hard-to-understand voice. When she asked what was wrong, he mentioned he had a horrible headache and that something was wrong with him. Both Hawkins called 911, and Danielle rushed home to find out what was going on. During the interview with Spectrum Health Beat several months later, Danielle admitted it was still hard for her to talk about the events of that day. Emergency services soon arrived, and immediately decided to rush Scott to a nearby hospital.

As they loaded him into their ambulance, his blood pressure started to spike, which caused fluid to build in his lungs.

Danielle was beside herself with worry. Everything had happened extremely fast, and Scott had never shown any signs of any serious illness or malady. The situation turned so bad that paramedics decided to intubate Scott while still en route to the hospital. Sadly, it turned out that Danielle was not only in for a harrowing day but several harrowing weeks while she and her husband fought for his health. 

After arriving at the hospital and examining Scott, doctors pulled Danielle aside to tell her the troubling news. His oxygen levels were extremely low and the doctors did not give him good chances. They warned Danielle that Scott would likely not survive the night and advised her to call their families so that people would have the chance to say goodbye.

The cause for Scott's troubles was later identified as an aneurysm close to his brain stem, which had ultimately caused the stroke. He then had a heart attack in the hospital as the doctors tried to stop his brain from bleeding.

The underlying cause of the aneurysm was an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM for short. This is an inborn condition that means a person's veins and arteries are interconnected, bypassing the capillary system in an unnatural way. There are no outward signs of this genetic disorder, and cerebral AVM, which Scott had, can cause dangerous aneurysms due to bleeding in the brain. 

While Scott did make it through the night and beyond, he was unable to follow directions or respond a week later. Doctors informed Danielle that he would likely never wake up, as he had suffered too much damage. They advised her to let him go. However, Danielle refused to believe it.

Instead of pulling the plug that would end his life, Danielle leaned over to give her unresponsive husband a kiss on the lips. She couldn't believe what happened next- Scott kissed her back! While she was unsure of whether she really felt the kiss or if she imagined it, that moment was enough to give her hope.

apost.com

Danielle fought the doctors to keep her beloved husband on life support. Her faith and hope certainly paid off! Five weeks later, Scott was able to be taken off of the ventilator. However, he was still not visibly responding and unable to talk.

Danielle realized that Scott would not be able to talk to her even if he did get better because of his tracheotomy - that is, the intubation in his throat that was helping keep him alive by supplying his lungs with oxygen. However, Danielle decided to cover the open airway carefully with her hand, allowing Scott to draw breath into his nose and mouth - and larynx. Scott then began to whisper! The first phrase he uttered was "I love you." He then asked for more pain medication.

It took 16 long weeks of recovery, but Scott went home on his own two feet- all because of the love and hope of his wife! His body had suffered severe damage, though, and he required extensive therapy and help getting back in health. Even now, in 2021, Scott still requires help in his daily life.

Danielle has opened her own business, creating and selling her own handmade pottery, which can be ordered online whenever available or bought in select stores in Michigan. Writing on her blog in March 2021, she explains that one of the main reasons she chose to pursue her pottery business was that she could continue to be her husband's caregiver this way. We wish this couple all the best and hope that Scott's road to recovery keeps going on!

Did you love this story of recovery as much as we did? Do you have relatives or loved ones who beat the odds? Tell us of your experiences - and feel free to pass it on to others!