By
Elisha Fieldstadt
-
NBC News
Terry Wayne Wallis, the man who spent 19 years in a coma before regaining consciousness in 2003, has died, according to an obituary published Sunday.
He was 57 years old.
Terry Wayne Wallis in 1984.NBC
Wallis, of Big Flat, Arkansas,
was in a car accident in 1984 that sent him into a coma
six weeks after the birth of his daughter, according to the obituary, published by Roller Funeral Homes. He was minimally conscious, but doctors believed he would remain forever in a coma.
But he began to speak out in 2003, believing that he had not passed the time.
He first recognized his mother and asked for milk and Pepsi, according to news reports at the time.
[Two injured by lightning at Yankees practice game in Florida]
Then he got better and started saying
"whatever he wanted"
, a caretaker told the BBC in July 2003.
He became known as "The Man Who Slept for 19 Years" which inspired headlines like
Miracle in Arkansas
.
Terry Wallis (center), his wife, Sandra Wallis, and their daughter, Amber Wallis, at a rehabilitation hospital in Mount, Arkansas, in 2002.Getty Images
Wallis' mother and family continued to visit him while he was in a coma, his obituary says.
"Doctors believe that this stimulation contributed to his awakening,"
he says.
The obituary added that Wallis "enjoyed eating anything at any time and loved drinking Pepsi."
[A faithful dog was kept by his owner's body until the Los Angeles police arrived]
“He liked to listen to live music, especially when his brother Perry played.
Terry was a great joker and he loved to joke around with his sister.
His wonderful sense of humor will be sorely missed by his family,” he tells himself.
Wallis' mother died in 2018. She is survived by her father, daughter, siblings and grandchildren.