Have you ever heard from someone that really believed you would never hear from again?

By never again, I do mean never. Someone missing, or that you believed to be dead, or somehow otherwise incapable of ever speaking to you again?

This just happened to me and I’m really unsure of how to feel. Someone that I once loved very much, and thought was in a persistent vegetative state has suddenly contacted me online. There was a car accident and they were comatose for a long time, badly injured. Years ago this person’s mother (now caregiver) cut off my lines of contact. The mother is extremely religious, and knew even before the accident that I was an atheist. So she took the first opportunity she could to cut me out of the picture.

Needless to say, I haven’t had any information about this person for years now. With the information I did have, I assumed they would never recover. Of course there is a lot more to the story, but I just wanted to give a little bit of background.
I’ve had my closure, I’ve mourned the loss of someone that I knew and loved. Except that suddenly they’ve reappeared. Every now and then I will do a search online, to see if there are news stories, articles, blogs, or (I hate to admit this) obituaries that will give me some kind of remote update on this person. Yesterday I found something, so I pursued. It required giving my information and leaving a message. So I did, and I got a response.

I want to believe that this is a good thing, that I should be happy. A big part of me doesn’t feel that. This person has nothing in common with the person that I once knew and loved. They have become a shadow of their mother’s image, their favorite things now are the very things they hated when I knew them. I’m not sure if I’m making complete sense… I’m just a little bit shaken up by the whole thing.

I’d really love to hear stories from anyone else that has experienced something similar, or knows someone who has. Thanks.