Wallis, from Big Flat, Arkansas, had a car accident in 1984 that put him in a coma six weeks after the birth of his daughter, according to an obituary published by Roller Funeral Homes. Terry Wayne Wallis and his wife Sandra in March 1984. (Getty Images archive) He was unconscious, but doctors believed he would be in a coma forever. Instead, he started talking in 2003, believing that time had not passed. He first recognized his mother and asked for milk and Pepsi, according to reports at the time. He then graduated with “whatever he wants to say”, a foreman told the BBC in July 2003. He became known as “The Man Who Sleeped for 19 Years”, inspired titles such as “Miracle in Arkansas”. Terry Wallis, center, Sandra’s wife, and their daughter Amber left for a rehabilitation center in Mount View, Ark., In 2002. (Getty Images Archive) Wallis’s mother and the entire family visited him regularly during his coma, obit reported. “Doctors believe this stimulus contributed to his waking period,” he said. The obit added that Wallis “enjoyed eating anything at all times and liked to drink Pepsi.” “He liked listening to live music, especially when Perry’s brother was playing. Terry was a great teaser and he liked to tease his sister. His family’s great sense of humor will be greatly missed,” he said. His mother died in 2018. He lived father and daughter, brothers and grandchildren.
