“Homecoming Joy!” Michigan Mom’s Remarkable Journey To Mother’s Day With Her Kids

DEBARYLIFE – A mother from Michigan is spending her first Mother’s Day with her three children at home after emerging from a five-year coma.

Following a car accident in 2017, Jennifer Flewellen was kept in a coma at the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. She emerged from the hospital in 2024, only months before Mother’s Day, after awakening unexpectedly in 2022.

Flewellen had just dropped her three youngsters off at school prior to the 2017 vehicle accident. At the time, 11-year-old Julian was the youngest son. Now that her older sons have graduated from high school and her son is 17 years old, Flewellen is attempting to make up for lost time on Mother’s Day.

In an interview with CBS News on May 10, Flewellen’s mother Peggy Means revealed that, despite medical professionals’ assurances that her daughter “wouldn’t wake up,” she had never planned to remove her from life support.

When asked if she regretted choosing to keep Flewellen on life support, Means told the publication that she never lost faith in her daughter’s ability to recover, even after years of being in a coma. “Never,” Means was adamant.

The moment Means woke up, Julian, Flewellen’s kid, revealed to PEOPLE in December 2023. Means was conversing with her as usual while paying her a visit at the rehabilitation facility when she abruptly realized Flewellen was giggling over a joke she had told.

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Means said to PEOPLE at the time, “When she woke up, it scared me at first because she was laughing and she had never done that.” “All of my dreams came true. I said, “That closed door that kept us apart had just opened,” on this particular day. We had returned.”

She partially opened her eyes, but not fully. Means continued, “She was nodding, but she couldn’t speak. “At first, she would still sleep a lot, but over the course of the months, she would become stronger and more alert.”

Shortly after Flewellen’s wake-up, Means recorded her and shared it with her loved ones, including her youngest son Julian, who visited his mother the following day.

Referring to his mother’s moniker for him, Julian told PEOPLE, “I told her I was Juju and her eyes lit up like, ‘Wow, it’s my Juju bean.'” But it crushed her heart when she really discovered our ages and other details. She broke down in tears.

Despite leaving the hospital around a year after she woke up, Flewellen still has very little speech and mobility. She is currently using money raised through a GoFundMe campaign to help her purchase a wheelchair-accessible car among other things.

Her family claimed that despite her difficulties, she is still becoming more intelligent.

Another significant turning point in Flewellen’s healing process came in October 2023 when she went to her son’s high school’s senior night football celebration.

She was my strongest ally, Julian said to PEOPLE. So it was odd to see my biggest fan back on the sidelines encouraging me.

“What’s the best part of being back among us?” was the question Flewellen used to reflect on her rehabilitation process with CBS. It was a straightforward but impactful response.

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“Everything,” was her response.

The mother of three said, “I’m ready to celebrate Mother’s Day with four simple words,” despite her restricted speech.

Saying, “I love my mum,” Flewellen spoke.