Pastor Returns Home After Being in Deep Coma and Declared Brain Dead by Doctors | “God’s Kept Him Here”

"He is a fighter. He is the strongest man I know. He is my hero," his wife said.

Cover Image Source: Facebook | Ryan's Recovery

By Suchitra B

March 15, 2023

Posted March 15, 2023

Ryan Marlow, a North Carolina pastor, was pronounced dead before waking up from a "deep coma." He is now back at home with his family and his wife is extremely grateful to God for her husband's recovery. Megan, Ryan's wife, shared that the 37-year-old minister suffered a traumatic brain injury in August as a result of a listeria infection, per NBC affiliate WXII.

She learned her husband was "clinically deceased" about two weeks later. He was being prepared for organ donations, according to a GoFundMe campaign update. However, Megan claimed in a Facebook video that Ryan's feet were moving as a family member showed him videos of their three children as they said their goodbyes to him. "I'm crying, and I don't want to have false hope," Megan said in the video. "This can happen when people are brain dead. They can have twitches."

But as it turns out, Megan was right. The next day, after talking to her family, Megan insisted that the doctors perform a brain function test on her spouse rather than proceed with an organ donation. Ryan was in a "deep coma," according to Megan, after a test quickly showed that his head was still receiving blood flow. "God's kept him here," Megan said on Facebook. "He's supposed to be dead, he's supposed to be at the funeral home right now according to these doctors."

Then began Ryan's recovery. Pastor Ryan returned home after a long period of time and many hospitalizations. In a March 3 Facebook update, Megan announced Ryan was finally coming home. For Ryan's return to his hometown, family and friends organized a parade, which was well attended by many people. Ryan was visible in a wheelchair in photos from the occasion.

Through the Facebook page outlining Pastor Ryan's recovery, Megan is now raising awareness of neurological disorders. In honor of National Brain Injury Awareness Month, Megan wrote a moving post. "He was living a beautiful and healthy life and then something as innocent as eating supper turned his world upside down with an Acquired Brain Injury from listeria," she wrote of Ryan. "He is a fighter. He is the strongest man I know. He is my hero."

Megan thanked people who have shown her support so far, sharing that Ryan is just "shocked" to see all the support he'd been receiving when he was sick. "For three hours Ryan waved, smiled, and interacted with hundreds of people. I’m so proud of him," she shared.