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"I don't want to have false hope," wife says Wilkes County pastor who died is now alive in coma as of Thursday

Wife says Wilkes County pastor she was told was dead, is still alive as of Thursday

"I don't want to have false hope," wife says Wilkes County pastor who died is now alive in coma as of Thursday

Wife says Wilkes County pastor she was told was dead, is still alive as of Thursday

WE ARE CONTINUING TO FILE AN UNIMAGINABLE STORY OUT OF WILKES COUNTY. A PASTOR WHOSE FAMILY SAYS THEY WERE TOLD HE HAD DIED, ONLY TO BE TOLD DAYS LATER THAT HE WAS IN FACT STILL ALIVE. FORD HATCHETT HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY ALL WEEK AND GOT AN UPDATE FROM THE PASTOR’S WIFE TODAY. FORD, I CAN’T IMAGINE. >> MEGAN IS BACK AT ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER STILL MONITORING HER HUSBAND IN THE NEURO ICU UNIT. SHE SAYS IT’S BEEN JUST A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS FOR HER ENTIRE FAMILY. ON SATURDAY, AFTER NEARLY A TWO WEEK STAY IN THE HOSPITAL RYAN MARLOW’S FAMILY WAS TOLD HE HAD PASSED. >> THOSE ARE THE WORDS THAT WERE USED. >> WE VISITED THE FAMILY HOME ON MONDAY, AS MEGAN MOURNED FOR THE MAN SHE LOVED. THE MAN SHE WAS TOLD WAS DEAD. >> HE WASN’T SUCH A GOOD MAN. BUT HE LOVE THE LORD MORE THAN ANYTHING, AND THAT IS WHAT MADE HIM GOOD, HIS LOVE OF CHRIST. >> ON MONDAY, MEGAN RECEIVED A CALL SAYING RYAN HAD ACTUALLY FALLEN SHORT OF NEUROLOGICAL DEATH. >> THEY HAD PUT DOWN CLINICAL DEATH ON SATURDAY, AND THEY HAD TO TAKE IT OFF BECAUSE IT WASN’T SO. SHE SAID NOW THE TIME OF DEATH WOULD BE TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN HE WAS IN THE O. R. AND HE WAS EXCAVATED. >> BUT BEFORE THE ORGAN DONATION PROCESS COULD BEGIN, FAMILY MEMBERS BEGAN TO SEE MOVEMENT IN RYAN’S FEET. DOCTORS NOW TELL HER RYAN IS NOT BRAIN DEAD, BUT IN A DEEP COMA. >> WHEN I PLAY VIDEOS OF OUR KIDS, I CAN SEE DIFFERENCES IN HIS HEARTRATE. >> RYAN AND MEGAN HAVE THREE CHILDREN, ALL UNDER THE AGE OF SIX. > AFTER TELLING HIM HIS DADDY WA IN HEAVEN, MEGAN HAD TO EXPLAIN THIS PECULIAR SITUATION TO HER FIVE-YEAR-OLD SON. >> I SAID SON, DR. -- SON, GOD CAN DO MIRACLES. THE DOCTORS WERE WRONG. LET’S JUST PRAY. I HAD TO BE CAREFUL HOW I WORDED IT BUT AT THE SAME TIME HE WAS SO DEVASTATED AND HURT. IF THERE IS A CHANCE HE CAN WITNESS A MIRACLE, AND HE HAS JUST TURNED FIVE YEARS OLD, THAT STUFF WILL BE WITH HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. >> SHE SAYS RYAN HAS NOW BEEN APPROVED FOR A TRANSFER TO DUKE HOSPITAL’S NEURO ICU ONCE A BED THERE BECOMES AVAILABLE. MEGAN SAYS SHE’S FIGHTING FOR EVERY CHANCE HER HUSBAND MAY HAVE, NO MATTER THE COST. >> IT’S ALREADY MIRACULOUS WHAT HAS TOOK PLACE BECAUSE TODAY WOULD POTENTIALLY BE HIS FUNERAL. I’M STILL HOLDING ON AND JUST PRAYING FOR THAT BED AT DUE TO OPEN UP. >> IT IS HARD TO FATHOM THIS ENTIRE SITUATION. MEGAN SAYS HER SUPPORT SYSTEM HAS REALLY CARRIED HER AND HER FAMILY THROUGH THIS UNIMAGINABLE SITUATION. DOCTORS HAVE WARNED HER NOT TO GET HER HOPES TOO HIGH. BUT SHE TOLD ME, EVEN JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HOPE RIGHT NOW BEATS HOW S
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"I don't want to have false hope," wife says Wilkes County pastor who died is now alive in coma as of Thursday

Wife says Wilkes County pastor she was told was dead, is still alive as of Thursday

A Wilkes County pastor emulated the story of his religion this week when his death certificate was supposedly redacted three days after he was declared dead. "I just wanted to give a quick unexpected update here," Megan Marlow began on a Facebook live, Wednesday evening. Saturday, Marlow met with a doctor about her husband's health. After an exam, the doctor announced that her husband — Grace Baptist Church Pastor Ryan Marlow — was clinically deceased, according to Marlow's account of the event.The time of death was written down, she said. Plans to match his organs to donor recipients began, she said.Church members wrote obituary-esque letters.Meanwhile, Marlow said, her husband remained on life support for the sake of his organ donations.Sunday and Monday, Marlow mourned her husband at home, reading over stories people had sent her about the impact he'd had on their lives. Monday night, the doctor called Marlow again to inform her that there was something peculiar about this case, according to her Facebook live; he was calling in an expert panel to review it."They said my husband did not in fact suffer neurological death, but that, he was not brain dead," Marlow said.Instead, the doctors decided that Pastor Marlow had suffered traumatic brain damage which would alter the technical time of death from Saturday to Tuesday, Marlow said."But I said, 'he's still pretty much brain dead right?' and I was told yes," Marlow said. Tuesday morning, her tears and family's sadness continued as they drove to the hospital for final goodbyes. Tuesday was supposed to be his honor walk, where the health care workers would line the hospital as his body would be taken to the OR.However, when the family arrived, Marlow's niece had a strange story to share. She said she had been showing Pastor Marlow videos of the family, and that his feet were moving. "I can't make this up, I cannot make this up. I'm crying, I don't want to have false hope. This can happen — when people are brain dead, they can have the spinal reflexes where you're brain dead but still have reflexes," Marlow said. She went to her husband's room and told him everything she ever wanted to tell him. She told him she loved him. She told him was a good husband. She told him her babies would be taken care of. And then she told him to fight. "I went into the hallway [...] literally the OR team was ready to take him, and I tell the nurse 'I need tests done now to see if he's brain dead.' [...] Long story short; he's not brain dead, my friends," Marlow said. There was blood flowing to Marlow's brain, after all, according to his wife. Her video claims the doctors determined that Pastor Marlow is in a deep coma, at this time. - That he is not awake, and wanted him accepted as a patient at Duke University Hospital in Durham. "My family was just completely dumbfounded," Marlow said. She asked people to pray that DUH would be able to take her husband in soon, even though they are short on beds. In the meantime, the family has been playing music for the pastor, hoping to inspire more brain activity. "He may still go to glory yet," Marlow said, but she believes there is a reason he is not gone yet. In a Facebook Live late Thursday, she said he will not be moving to Duke Hospital. She said doctors there did a virtual examination Thursday night and told her they wouldn’t be able to do anything above what Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is doing. However, she said she’s not giving up hope. She said she’s now looking at a possible transfer to other hospitals and asked the current doctors to treat Ryan as if he’ll make a full recovery. She said, “This is beyond medical help, this is in the Lord’s hands.”

A Wilkes County pastor emulated the story of his religion this week when his death certificate was supposedly redacted three days after he was declared dead.

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"I just wanted to give a quick unexpected update here," Megan Marlow began on a Facebook live, Wednesday evening.

Saturday, Marlow met with a doctor about her husband's health. After an exam, the doctor announced that her husband — Grace Baptist Church Pastor Ryan Marlow — was clinically deceased, according to Marlow's account of the event.

The time of death was written down, she said.

Plans to match his organs to donor recipients began, she said.

Church members wrote obituary-esque letters.

Meanwhile, Marlow said, her husband remained on life support for the sake of his organ donations.

Sunday and Monday, Marlow mourned her husband at home, reading over stories people had sent her about the impact he'd had on their lives.

Monday night, the doctor called Marlow again to inform her that there was something peculiar about this case, according to her Facebook live; he was calling in an expert panel to review it.

"They said my husband did not in fact suffer neurological death, but that, he was not brain dead," Marlow said.

Instead, the doctors decided that Pastor Marlow had suffered traumatic brain damage which would alter the technical time of death from Saturday to Tuesday, Marlow said.

"But I said, 'he's still pretty much brain dead right?' and I was told yes," Marlow said.

Tuesday morning, her tears and family's sadness continued as they drove to the hospital for final goodbyes. Tuesday was supposed to be his honor walk, where the health care workers would line the hospital as his body would be taken to the OR.

However, when the family arrived, Marlow's niece had a strange story to share. She said she had been showing Pastor Marlow videos of the family, and that his feet were moving.

"I can't make this up, I cannot make this up. I'm crying, I don't want to have false hope. This can happen — when people are brain dead, they can have the spinal reflexes where you're brain dead but still have reflexes," Marlow said.

She went to her husband's room and told him everything she ever wanted to tell him. She told him she loved him. She told him was a good husband. She told him her babies would be taken care of. And then she told him to fight.

"I went into the hallway [...] literally the OR team was ready to take him, and I tell the nurse 'I need tests done now to see if he's brain dead.' [...] Long story short; he's not brain dead, my friends," Marlow said.

There was blood flowing to Marlow's brain, after all, according to his wife.

Her video claims the doctors determined that Pastor Marlow is in a deep coma, at this time. - That he is not awake, and wanted him accepted as a patient at Duke University Hospital in Durham.

"My family was just completely dumbfounded," Marlow said.

She asked people to pray that DUH would be able to take her husband in soon, even though they are short on beds. In the meantime, the family has been playing music for the pastor, hoping to inspire more brain activity.

"He may still go to glory yet," Marlow said, but she believes there is a reason he is not gone yet.

In a Facebook Live late Thursday, she said he will not be moving to Duke Hospital. She said doctors there did a virtual examination Thursday night and told her they wouldn’t be able to do anything above what Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is doing. However, she said she’s not giving up hope. She said she’s now looking at a possible transfer to other hospitals and asked the current doctors to treat Ryan as if he’ll make a full recovery. She said, “This is beyond medical help, this is in the Lord’s hands.”