DOWAGIAC, Mich. — Spring is about beginnings. But for Peggy Means, a devoted mom of two, life lately has been all about an ending.
Just as her life was slowing down, a time for reflection on decades of work and raising children, Peggy got a call that shattered everything.
“I was at work and the phone just kept ringing and I wasn't allowed to talk on the phone, you know, so I couldn't answer," explained Peggy. "And then it kept ringing and ringing and ringing. And so I finally answered. And it was her husband telling me she had been in an accident.”
Peggy’s daughter, Jennifer Flewellen was driving home after dropping her three young sons at school when she felt lightheaded and crashed her car. She was rushed to a hospital bed. Miles away, her car was wrapped around a pole.
“Her heart had stopped," said Peggy. “The paramedics said that they usually just tried three times with the compressor and they tried the fourth and they brought her back.”
Jennifer was put into a coma to reboot her brain. But days passed, and she hadn't come back out of it.
“They said it's best to just let her pass peacefully," said Peggy. "And it's like, now, as of today, we're not doing that.”
Jennifer was her firstborn and her only little girl. Peggy couldn't let go yet.
“I just believe that when God's ready, he'll take her,” she said.
Years went by. Every day, the hope of her waking up was dwindling. Jennifer's visitors did, too.
“Husbands drift off," said Peggy. "And her girlfriends, you know, it slowed down.”
But one visitor never gave up.
"No one's gonna take care of you like your mom," she said. “Just a normal routine. I do my work. I get over there. When I'd have to leave I'd stand at her door and just stare at her, it broke my heart.”
There was a 2% chance her daughter would ever come back. Everyone told Peggy to let go. Never had she been more in need of a miracle — when she heard a laugh.
Peggy was walking Jennifer around the path surrounding the hospital, telling her a joke. Five years of silence, and suddenly, Jennifer laughed.
“When I realized it was like, Oh, my gosh, today's the day, it's really happening," said Peggy. “She cried when she heard me. That gave me more hope.”
From there, miracles just kept coming.
"They said if she ever woke up the brain activity, she's not going to be there. And she was," she said. “I told her once, if it was too much in the beginning, that I understood if she let go, but if it wasn't for her to fight, and if you fight, I'll be right here beside you, fighting. And that's what we did.”
Graduating from the hospital, Jen is finally back in her childhood home with the one love that followed her into adulthood.
"It's where she should have been all along," Peggy said.
This Mother’s Day, there were no flowers, no cards or even an “I love you." But with a bond like theirs — it was more than enough. No words needed.
“Where there's life, there's hope," smiled Peggy, brushing hair away from her daughter's face.
► Jennifer’s family has a GoFundMe set up. So far, they were able to get the adaptable van they need to bring Jennifer to her favorite store – Walmart. Next, they want to expand the doorways in their home and get a bigger shower that Jennifer can fit in. You can support them here.
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