I spent 30 days in a coma - and what happened next changed everything
UPDATED: 07:26 GMT, 28 October 2024
An Illinois woman spent 30 days in a medically induced coma fighting for her life, but everything changed the moment she woke up.
Victoria Cupay was diagnosed with lupus, but in 2019 she reacted to a medication that caused her skin to shed and organs to deteriorate.
She spent the month hooked up to tubes, a breathing machine and family and friends praying she would survive.
Doctors eventually began to reduce the medication that put her into a coma and on August 19, Cupay opened her eyes see to her boyfriend Nick Baldo standing at her bedside with a diamond ring and a question to ask.
'He actually asked my mom before he proposed, because that was one of my requests way before I got sick. He respected that wish,' Cupay told DailyMail.com.
'He decided to do it then because I had a lot of close calls to death. And he said that if I don't make it, I will at least have a good memory.'
The couple married on August 19, 2022, exactly three years after the proposal to allow Cupay to recover and the COVID pandemic to subside.
They also welcomed a baby boy this year, Peter, which Cupay previously believed would never happen.
'Lupus patients are prone to miscarriages, and so it was a high-risk pregnancy. We wanted him for the longest time,' she said.
'He loves playing with books, and he loves steak and asparagus. He's just a joy in life.'