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The smiles on their faces mirror the sweetness of their newfound friendship. For Sarah Scantlin, it's a Friday, the day her friend Stacia Thrash comes to visit. Thrash will do Sarah's makeup, and maybe they'll talk about what Sarah had for lunch. In their hour together, they'll sing a song and read a story. Thrash, a volunteer through the Reno County Volunteer Center, will paint Sarah's fingernails. Nancy Wilson, activity director at Golden Plains Health Care Center, wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek as she watched the two women together - Thrash, 20, a sophomore at Hutchinson...

Another big step taken Sarah Scantlin continues her amazing recovery over the past two years by feeding herself lunch By Clara Kilbourn The Hutchinson News Grand Prairie ckilbourn@hutchnews.com She's feeding herself. Adding to an incredible series of accomplishments over the past two years, Sarah Scantlin scaled another mountain this week. On Thursday her father watched for the first time as his daughter, with a spoon clasped snugly in the fingers of her right hand, lifted her arm and moved it toward her mouth. "It's a miraculous deal," James Scantlin said. "Think of it. For 20 years she was a blank,...

We have always been told there is no recovery from persistent vegetative state - doctors can only make a sufferer's last days as painless as possible. But is that really the truth? Across three continents, severely brain-damaged patients are awake and talking after taking ... a sleeping pill. And no one is more baffled than the GP who made the breakthrough. Steve Boggan witnesses these 'strange and wonderful' rebirths For three years, Riaan Bolton has lain motionless, his eyes open but unseeing. After a devastating car crash doctors said he would never again see or speak or hear. Now his...

Sarah Scantlin was knocked into a coma by a drunk driver 20 years ago has begun to speak and remember her past. Her brain was injured so badly that doctors first feared she would spend her life in a vegetative state, spending years unable to form words or make any sounds other than loud cries. A week ago Sarah began speaking and doctors have no explanation. The parents, brother and sister of Terri Schindler Schiavo hope the Florida courts will see this miracle and think of Terri. Video tape shown today on CNN Headline News of Sarah with her mother...

Doctors have proof on how man who was barely conscious for decades woke Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is thought to be the only person in the United States to recover so dramatically so long after a severe brain injury. He still needs help eating and cannot walk, but his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25...

The question Sarah Scantlin asked her therapists came slowly and surely. "What ... do ... you ... want ... me ... to ... do ... now?" With her torso balanced between occupational therapist Kalwant Singh's arms and hands, and facing physical therapist Robin Kenyon, Scantlin had completed a set of 10 lower leg lifts, one leg at a time. On request, she'd twisted her neck from side to side and pulled her torso up into a sitting position. Thursday, Jan. 12, was "OK" day for Sarah. It was exactly one year ago that she uttered an "OK, OK" in response...

It's a new world' Sarah Scantlin making gains in regaining control of her arms in infinitesimal increments By Clara Kilbourn The balls of gauze that protected Sarah Scantlin's feet for two decades have been traded in for a pair of high-top sneakers. A welcome spot of breakfast lingers on her T-shirt, and she smiles when her mother, Betsy Scantlin, talks about Sarah's newfound fondness for Zingers and French fries. "Where's the catsup?" Sarah asked when the French fries were served, Betsy said. In the six months since she spoke her first "OK" - after 20 years of no verbal communication,...

For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin was seemingly unaware of the world around her after she was hit by a drunk driver in an accident that sent her into a comatose state in September of 1984. Then in February, she shocked her parents and doctors when she began to speak. In her first national television interview, after undergoing surgery on her long-unused limbs and speech therapy to unlock her long-dormant tongue, Scantlin speaks with The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith in a two-part interview to be broadcast Thursday and Friday. Smith also speaks with Sarah's parents, Jim and Betsy Scantlin,...

A US woman who has spent the past 20 years in a coma-like state has inexplicably awoken and can now speak, news reports said. Sarah Scantlin was 18 years old when, as a pedestrian, she was injured in a hit-and-run accident that left her in a semi-vegetative condition, aware of her surroundings but unable to speak or move. Since that time, she has been in a care centre in the Midwest US state of Kansas. Scantlin's parents unexpectedly received a phone call last week from the nursing home where their now 38-year-old daughter resides. However, instead of the call being...

Clearwater, Fl., Feb. 14, 2005 (CNA) - The awakening of a Kansas woman from a 20-year coma has encouraged Terri Schindler Schiavo’s family in their fight to keep their daughter alive.Sarah Scantlin fell into a coma after being hit by a drunk driver 20 years ago, but she has begun to speak and remember her past. Her brain was injured so badly that doctors first feared she would spend her life in a vegetative state. But a week ago, Scantlin began speaking and doctors have no explanation.Terri’s parents, brother and sister hope the Florida courts will consider what happened to...

FEBRUARY 21, 2005 God is Speaking: Are We Listening? by Thomas A. DroleskeyAn Associated Press report of February 13, 2005, was e-mailed to me by some unknown person. The report speaks for itself: HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin has been mostly oblivious to the world around her — the victim of a drunken driver who struck her down as she walked to her car. Today, after a remarkable recovery, she can talk again. Scantlin's father knows she will never fully recover, but her newfound ability to speak and her returning memories have given him his...

Breaking the Silence 20-year wait to hear their daughter speak again is over for parents of near-fatal accident victim By Clara Kilbourn The call came Feb. 4. "Are you sitting down? There's someone here who wants to talk to you." Betsy Scantlin recognized the caller, Jennifer Trammell, director of social services at Golden Plains Health Care Center. The next voice was different. "Hi, Mom." "Sarah, is that you?" "Yeah." "Hi, Dad," she said, then, slowly drawing out the words, "Happy Valentine's Day." For 20 years, Betsy and Jim Scantlin had waited to again hear their daughter's voice. Jim wanted to...

Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005 A celebration was held at Golden Plains Nursing Home for Sarah Scantlin. She’s essentially been asleep for 20 years, but now she’s awake and talking. “I think it’s truly a miracle, that she hasn’t been able to communicate at all for 20 years and she’s talking,” says Dr. Bradley Scheel, Sarah’s doctor. “Hi,” says Sarah Scantlin. “Many times I’ve had to pretend that Sarah wasn’t around, because I couldn’t take anymore,” says Sarah’s father, Jim Scantlin. “You kind of just resign yourself to that’s the way life is,” says Jim Scantlin, Jr., Sarah’s brother. Twenty years...

Saturday, February 12, 2005 LIFE AND DEATH TUG OF WAR Dr. Dobson enters Schiavo fray Says Terri deserves same chance as woman who came out of 20-year coma February 12, 2005 © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, yesterday called for preservation of Terri Schiavo's life, citing the recent, spontaneous recovery of Sarah Scantlin after 20 years of memory loss and inability to speak. Dobson said Schiavo – the brain-injured Florida woman whose parents are battling her husband in court to save her life – deserves the same chance at life Scantlin was given. "Both...