A FORMER Miss Virginia has "come back to life" after doctors told her family that she had died of coronavirus.
Barbara Guthrie Lay, who was crowned Miss Virginia in 1958, was rushed to hospital in Roswell, Georgia, on December 20 after she developed trouble breathing.
On Christmas Eve, Barbara's husband Tony, who was not allowed into her ICU room because of social-distancing rules, was informed that she had died.
Following the tragic news, Tony reached out to family members to tell them of her passing.
However, minutes later Barbara's son Thom Kelley called Tony to say that a pulse had been found.
It was Thom, a doctor, who was first told that his mother had died and who contacted Tony.
"As a physician, I will say without hesitation there is only one word for what has happened over the past week — a miracle," Kelley told the Martinsville Bulletin of Virginia.
The 82-year-old's husband Tony told ABC: " I was overjoyed and tearful again. I went from being miserable and brokenhearted to overjoyed.
Tony told the media outlet how the near-death experience taught him about his love for his wife.
"I have always loved my wife," he told the TV station.
"I just didn’t realize exactly how much until this happened and that I can’t live without her."
An old friend of Barbara's from Virginia, Howard Huff, said he was going to save a copy of the Bulletin's story to show her when she is discharged.
"Barbara has not seen a spotlight she didn't like," he joked.
"She has this incredible will to live and always says she plans to live until she's 101."
The Lays believe that Barbara contracted the virus after contact with a neighbor.
Barbara has since been moved out of ICU and into a regular hospital room and has yet to learn about her near-death experience.
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