Woman dies after 42 years in coma

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MIAMI, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A Miami woman who fell into a diabetic coma in 1970 died at age 59 after 42 years of unconsciousness, her family said.

Edwarda O'Bara died Wednesday after being cared for by her mother and sister through decades of illness, the Miami New Times reported Friday.

O'Bara was a high school student when she fell ill and regurgitated her diabetes medicine. She was rushed to the hospital, where she asked her mother never to leave her side just before she slipped into the coma, The Miami Herald said.

Her mother, Kaye O'Bara, cared for her until her own death five years ago, and her sister, Colleen O'Bara, had cared for her in her last years.

O'Bara's 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.

Funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday.