Coronavirus: Woman expected to die opens eyes after family pulls the plug

BENTON, Ark. — An Arkansas family is shocked to see their loved one recovering from COVID-19 after being told she only had a few more hours to live.

Doctors told Nichole Brewer that her mother, Rhonda Withem, would not be able to breathe again on her own after suffering complications from the coronavirus, KTHV reported.

Withem, who tested positive for the virus on Nov. 7, initially quarantined while she monitored her symptoms. As they continued to worsen, she was eventually admitted to the intensive care unit at Saline Memorial Hospital.

For two weeks, she remained in the ICU on a ventilator. Doctors told Brewer her mother had been unresponsive during attempts to remove her from the ventilator.

Ultimately, Brewer and her family made the difficult decision to pull the plug on the ventilator, and they prepared to say their goodbyes from outside Withem’s hospital room, KTHV reported.

“The doctors said it would just be hours once they took everything off,” Brewer told the news station.

But before long, Withem opened her eyes and looked around the room. Brewer said she even attempted to smile and wave at her daughters.

“It’s just a miracle,” she said.

Withem is undergoing rehabilitation through next week to regain her strength, and her daughter has a message for those who might be going through a similar situation: “Don’t give up on your faith or your hope.”

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