New Jersey Catholic girl recovers from coma, says faith helped her

Published: 2004-11-17

NORTH HALEDON, N.J. (CNS) -- After being unable to speak for several weeks, 14-year-old Elka Franco shocked everyone by laughing. Though the laughter was faint, it was music to her mother's ears. "The laugh was very quiet and soft, but it was something," said Blanca Franco, Elka's mother, recalling her daughter's recovery four weeks after she suffered a massive brain aneurysm in July. "Someone told a joke. After that, Elka couldn't stop laughing," Blanca told The Beacon, newspaper of the Paterson Diocese. The outcome could have been much worse. Initially, Elka was in a coma for four days. Her doctors feared she could die and told family members to wait and pray. Today, after countless hours of physical, occupational and speech therapies, the teenage girl has regained most of her lost motor functions. And she has a new outlook. As she puts it: "I want to thank God for giving me another chance at life."

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