Florida woman dies after 42 years in diabetic coma

USPA News - A Florida woman, who spent more than four decades in a diabetic coma and was always cared for by her mother, and whose tragic story inspired a book, died at her home on Wednesday without ever regaining consciousness, her family said. She was 59. Edwarda O`Bara died Wednesday at her home in Miami Gardens, a suburb of Miami, while with her sister who continued to care for her after their mother died in 2008. Edwarda, who was diabetic, became ill with the flu in early 1970 and went into a coma after suffering from complications which made her dangerously sick.

"It is with great sadness I inform everyone my sister Edwarda is now with the Lord in Heaven," Colleen O`Bara, Edwarda`s sister, said in a brief statement. "While taking care of Edwarda I noticed her looking directly at me and gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen. She then closed her eyes and joined my Mom in Heaven." Edwarda, then 16, had asked her mother, Kaye O`Bara, to never leave her shortly before slipping into a coma. "I said: `I sure will be, baby. I never left you before.` And I have," Kaye told "Inside Edition" in 1996. Kaye continued to daily care for her daughter until she passed away herself in 2008. Kaye said caring for Edwarda was never a burden on the family, but paying bills became a problem due to the expensive care at home. At the time of the "Inside Edition" broadcast in 1996, the family was nearly $60,000 in debt. But Kaye never left her daughter`s side, turning her every two hours to prevent bedsores, giving her insulin, and feeding her through a tube. The tragic story inspired the book "A Promise Is A Promise: An Almost Unbelievable Story of a Mother`s Unconditional Love and What It Can Teach Us," by Dr. Wayne Dyer. The publicity prompted people from across the world to travel to Miami Gardens, and many of them made a contribution to help the family. Funeral services for Edwarda, which are open to the public, will be held on Tuesday in North Miami. A church service will be held on Wednesday.