When Scott Hawkins had a stroke at the age of 37, he and his wife Danielle started a journey that was at first traumatic but ended in happiness.
The arteriovenous malformation that Scott had been growing from birth and that physicians had no way of knowing was what led to the brain aneurysm that resulted in the stroke. Danielle clung to hope despite the fact that it was unlikely that Scott would survive his first night in the hospital.
Scott had surgery two days later, but while it was being done, Scott had a heart attack.
Danielle said: “They lost him for a few minutes. He had loss of oxygen because of that, too.”
Doctors urged Danielle to let him go after three weeks in critical care. She didn’t do it because of a kiss of true love.
She confided: “Not sure if it was real or not, but I didn’t [say goodbye], because every time I kissed him, he kissed me back.”
She persisted in fighting for her husband, and after many days of pulmonary rehabilitation, he was ultimately removed from the ventilator and allowed to breathe on his own. There, he progressively started to regain some motor abilities, convincing the doctors he was getting well.
Sixteen weeks after beginning his rehabilitation at the Michigan-based Spectrum Health Rehab and Nursing Center, Scott is returning to his home with Danielle and their four kids, playing the guitar and going to music festivals like they always have.
Danielle said: “Even when they told me to call the family that first night, I just never felt it. I never believed he would die. I always had this picture of him walking with a cane. He’s playing guitar again. He plays the drums. It used to be he couldn’t swallow. He had a feeding tube for nine months, but now he can eat anything he wants.”
Although Scott will need a lot of time to recuperate, he believes his wife helped him survive in more ways than one. The pair are really thankful for their relationship and the support they received when Danielle decided not to abandon him.
Watch the video about them: