When Ryan Finley found his wife Jill unresponsive and not breathing, panic set in—but love drove him to act. He performed CPR, praying she would come back. Paramedics revived her, but her heart was weak, her breathing slow. At the Oklahoma Heart Hospital, she was placed in a cooling suit to protect her brain. Then came the crushing news: Jill had slipped into a coma, and her chances of recovery were almost zero.

Weeks passed. Doctors urged Ryan to consider taking her off life support. In his diary, he wrote, “Today could be the worst day of my life. I have to decide whether or not she will die.” Believing Jill wouldn’t want to live like that, he made the heartbreaking call.

Family gathered to say goodbye. The machines were switched off. But Jill didn’t slip away—she started mumbling. To everyone’s shock, her first words were a request for her favorite Mexican restaurants.

From that moment, Ryan knew she would survive. And she did. Jill began breathing on her own, underwent heart surgery, and slowly regained her strength. She remembers nothing from the coma, but she and Ryan see life differently now.

“We cherish each day, each minute, each hour,” Jill says. “Not that we didn’t before—it just puts it more in perspective.”