Wife refuses to pull the plug on comatose husband, he wakes up and begins remarkable recovery

A husband and wife from Georgia are learning to love again after a motorcycle accident robbed the husband of his memory.

This week, Matthew and Danielle Davis’ love story is going viral.

“I love my husband,” Danielle wrote on their blog, New Life in an Old World. “People die for this kind of love. People stay alive for this kind of love.”

On July 11, 2011, then-22-year-old Matthew was heading to work on his motorcycle when he collided with an illegally parked car while merging onto a highway.

He suffered a long list of serious injuries, including multiple fractures of the femur, multiple jaw fractures, a fractured rib, lacerated liver, fractured collar bone, skull fracture, and a severe traumatic brain injury.

He was in a coma with only a 10 per cent chance of ever regaining consciousness. His chance at a full recovery was even smaller, just 5 per cent.

About a week after Matthew’s horrific accident, doctors told Danielle to consider taking her husband off life support.

She refused.

“I prayed a lot and chose not to take him off of life support,” she wrote on their blog. “The next day Matthew opened his eyes. Exciting as this is I later learned that eyes open without consciousness is typical of a vegetative state.”

Matthew was transferred to a rehabilitation centre in an attempted to “wake up” his brain. While his eyes started tracking the people in his room, he showed few other signs of movement or response to commands.

Danielle had him moved to her mother’s home where she could care for him in a familiar space.

At home, Matthew began what has become a remarkable recovery. First, he regained some movement in his limbs. Then he started grunting. After three weeks of around-the-clock care from his wife and mother-in-law, Matthew “emerged from the coma” and began a nearly three-month rehabilitation program that included hours of daily speech, occupational and physical therapy.

He couldn’t, however, remember anything from the previous three years of his life, including his wedding to Danielle.

Danielle stood by his side, caring for the husband who didn’t remember her.

She raised money to cover his medical expenses.

“He still struggles with memory from before the accident. Our relationship, our wedding day, all of that is gone but his new short term memory is outstanding!” she wrote on GoFundMe, which has helped the couple raise more than $50,000 towards the next few years of intense therapy and living expenses.

And slowly, Matthew began to fall in love (again) with his wife.

“You fought for me so hard and, if you really think about it, that’s the reason that I’m here today,” he told Danielle.

In April 2014, Matthew took his first steps on his own. A recent Facebook video shows the determined man attempting to run, almost four years after the accident. He no longer takes any medications.

Matthew and Danielle credit their faith for getting them through the last four years.

“The doctors, they know what they’re talking about, and it’s good counsel, but it doesn’t mean that they’re right,” Danielle told CBS News of choosing not to pull the plug in 2011. “If you believe in God, then believe in God, take what you know to be true.”

“He put her in my life, so God knows what he’s doing,” Matthew added.

Once Matthew is fully mobile again, the couple plans to get married again — to replace the one Matthew has no memory of — and even start raising a family of their own.

“One conversation with Matt will change your life,” Danielle wrote. “He has a servant’s heart and a love for people. He never complains or feels anger about his circumstance. He has an uncanny ability to turn strangers into family with a smile.“

“He just wants to make a difference and give hope. We would love the opportunity for a full life together!”