‘The Man Who Slept 19 Years’ dies nearly 20-years after miracle awakening

Mountain View, Ark. (KAIT) – A man who made international news after waking up from a 19-year coma died this week.

Terry Wallis suffered a debilitating car crash on July 13, 1984. He remained in a comatose state until June 11, 2003.

According to his obituary, Wallis’ accident happened six-weeks after his daughter was born when his truck skidded off a bridge in Stone County. Wallis was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital. After a year in a coma, Wallis stabilized into a minimally conscious state, but doctors believed his condition would not improve.

Wallis’ improvement shocked the world. Known as “The Man Who Slept 19 years,” he became the subject of many news and medical articles, including Time Magazine and Mayo Clinic publications.

The American Journal of Medicine in 2006 reported Wallis as being the first person ever documented to regenerate brain cells, according to his daughter, Amber.

In his obituary, Wallis’ family wrote that “his family would bring him home on alternate weekends for years” and doctors believe the stimulation contributed to his awakening.

Described as a man who enjoyed “eating anything at anytime and loved drinking Pepsi,” Wallis died on March 29, 2022.

A funeral for Wallis was held on April 1, 2022.