Things had hit their darkest moment for Meghan Marlow in August 2022. Her husband, Ryan Marlow, had been hospitalized after a listeria infection and had suffered a brain injury. “The doctor came out [of husband’s hospital room] with about 20 other people as my witness and said your husband has clinically passed. He is clinically deceased. He has passed away. He has suffered neurological death,” Meghan said on a Facebook Live video. “They put the time of his death on his chart. That was it. I was called into a room and told that my husband was an organ donor and that we were gonna begin the process of finding matches for his organs. So that process began, he was on life support, and they told me he would remain on life support until they found all of the donors,” she said. Two days after he was declared brain dead, a doctor reached out to Meghan, saying that there had been a mistake and that although Ryan was not brain dead, he was in a coma and would not be able to live without life support. The day he was due to have his organs harvested, Meghan’s niece noticed his feet moving when she played videos of his children. After Meghan sat with Ryan privately and prayed, it was determined that Ryan did, in fact, have brain activity. “Long story short, he’s not brain dead, my friends. The doctor would not even do the brain death test because they said that there is brain activity,” Meghan said in her post.

The New York Post gave an update on Ryan’s condition in November. “Ryan is showing more responsiveness and awareness every day! We can see him trying to participate in therapy,” it quoted Meghan in a Facebook update. “Ryan has had a great few days. It was a pretty quiet weekend. He seems to show a little more responsiveness every day. Today he shook his head yes and no multiple times and squeezes my hand just about every time I ask,” she said in another update. Ryan was able to go home on February 24th, with Meghan writing, “Day 191 Atlanta Day 84 4,584 hours Since we have been home together as a family of five. The last official trip Ryan had scheduled to come back to Wilkes, his destination was the funeral home. BUT GOD…” She ended her thanks to friends and family by writing, “To my Lord who is THE ONE who brought Ryan back home to us all. And I’m praising Him on credit for what he’s going to do!! Don’t quit praying now!! We have work to do!”

On March 3rd, Meghan wrote in support of National Brain Injury Awareness Month, “I post this today in honor of my husband. 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. He is a fighter. He is the strongest man I know. He is my hero.” She invited supporters to come to Ryan’s welcome home parade the following day. On March 5th, she thanked everyone who came by to show support for her husband. “Yesterday was such a beautiful day. Hundreds of people came by to show love and support, and we are just humbled. Many dear friends, and many we had never met in person, but the Lord makes us brothers and sisters in Him. Ryan was just shocked at all the love that was shown. For the last 6 months, I’ve been able to see all the messages and the comments and the support and the prayers,” she wrote. Ryan’s road to recovery remains extensive as he undergoes numerous therapies and experiences complications from the infection. To follow Ryan’s journey, you can follow his Facebook page here.