Idaho Falls mother who spent nearly 11 years in a coma dies surrounded by family

IDAHO FALLS — A 55-year-old mother of six who has been in a coma for nearly 11 years died on Friday surrounded by her family.

Lauriann Bartell’s family has been caring for her in their Idaho Falls home since 2015, when a routine operation turned into a life-changing journey for her husband, Mike Bartell, and their children.

Lauriann, who went by Lauri, had surgery in August 2015 after doctors discovered an ulcer on her intestine that was bleeding. Following the procedure, Mike says his wife complained that she didn’t feel right. Two days later, still in the hospital, she suddenly woke Mike up.

“I was in the rocking chair next to her sleeping,” Mike told EastIdahoNews.com in 2018. “She told me something was wrong, so I called the nurses and doctors right away.”

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The cauterization on her ulcer had broken loose and torn into a major artery.

“She asked me to give her a blessing. Those were the last words she said, and I was finishing the blessing as the doctors were going crazy trying to help her. The nurses were saying, ‘Ms. Bartell, Ms. Bartell,’ and shaking her and trying to get her to talk,” Mike recalled.

Lauri bled out and lost her pulse twice. She was rushed into emergency surgery and survived, but a lack of oxygen to her brain caused major damage. Doctors didn’t think she could pull through.

“I came home and told the children that it looked like Mom wasn’t going to make it,” Mike said. “Then they ran another CT scan, and there was a big change. She had brain activity again. So the neurologist told me if it was me, I wouldn’t give up. I’d take her home and try.”

That’s exactly what Mike did. After a six-week hospital stay, he brought Lauri home. She couldn’t speak, move, eat, respond or do much of anything – but that didn’t matter to him or the kids.

“I would rather take care of her here than have to send her somewhere else,” Sadie Bartell, the couple’s only daughter, told EastIdahoNews.com years ago.

There have been challenges over the years, but the community has rallied around the Bartells. The East Idaho News team surprised the family with a gift from an anonymous Secret Santa in 2017. Fundraisers have been held to help the family with bills and in 2018, Sadie’s favorite singer, Taylor Swift, donated $15,500 to a GoFundMe with a message sending love from her and her cats. It read, “Love Taylor, Meredith and Olivia Swift.”

Over the past few months, Lauri’s health has declined and her organs have been failing. Her family made the decision to take her off life support last week, according to a GoFundMe, and Lauri passed away on Friday at home.

“She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend,” Lauri’s obituary says. “She radiated kindness and compassion and had a gift for making everyone feel seen, loved, and welcomed. Lauri could talk to anyone and treated every person as a child of God. Her life was an example of Christlike love, service, and strength.”

READ LAURIANN BARTELL’S OBITUARY HERE

A GoFundMe has been established to help the Bartells with funeral expenses and a headstone. Lauri’s funeral will be held Monday at noon at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 2055 Coronado Street in Idaho Falls. It will be livestreamed here.