Son Plans Emotional Surprise for Mom Celebrating First Mother’s Day at Home After 5-Year Coma (Exclusive)

“I was in the back crying,” Jennifer Flewellen’s mom tells PEOPLE

Jennifer Flewellen's son Daeton spent years praying for his mom, who woke up from a 5-year coma in August 2022. This Mother’s Day, her first at home with her kids since waking up, he only wanted one thing: to have her come to his church.

Much to his mom's surprise, Daeton, who turned 20 last month, went to the front of the congregation and read a poem he wrote about his mom, who has been fighting her way back to regain the life she lost.

“I was in the back crying,” Flewellen’s mom Peggy Means tells PEOPLE. “He’s the one with the biggest heart.”

The family was ripped apart on Sept. 25, 2017, when Flewellen was involved in a horrific single car accident after dropping her boys off at school. 

Means, who might be the ultimate Mama Bear, stood by her daughter in the belief she would one day wake from the coma despite the dire prognosis of the doctors they saw over the years.

Sure enough, her daughter did wake up, which is when the real work began.

“She woke up, but she didn’t completely. She couldn’t speak, but she was nodding,” Means told PEOPLE last December. “She would sleep a lot right at first, but then as the months would go by, she would get stronger and be more awake.”

A major milestone last fall? She was able to attend her youngest son Julian’s high school football game.

Related: Michigan Mom Spends First Mother’s Day at Home with Her Kids Since Waking Up from a 5-Year Coma

Means says Daeton asked last month if his mom — who has continued making slow, but steady progress — and grandmother would be able to come to his church on Mother’s Day.

It was only fitting, Means says.

“The preacher saw us there and said, ‘What a blessing. This lady we’ve been praying for is under the roof today,' ” Means recalls, adding that Daeton's other grandmother also shared a special tribute to Flewellen.

“She told everyone she used to thank Jen every Mother’s Day for giving her her first grandson and how special she was and how strong I was to hang in there," Means says. "But God was carrying us through it all.”

As for Daeton's words of love, Means says she was so moved that she forgot to take out her phone to record it all. But he sent a copy that reads in part "Though distance, time and life itself may take me far away, I'll always be your child with these three words to say I love you.”

After church, the family gathered at Mean’s home, where Flewellen’s oldest son Skylar, now 22, lives.

My Extraordinary Family is PEOPLE's new series that explores fascinating families in all their forms. If you have a sweet story the world needs to know, send the details to love@people.com. 

In addition to the support of their local community, Means thanks everybody who has donated to the family's GoFundMe, which has allowed them to purchase a van. In addition to making family shopping trips and the occasional fun excursions together possible, it also helps get Flewellen to her frequent therapy sessions and appointments.

“It just changed everything to be able to get that van," Means says.

Flewellen has been diligent with her rehab work and recently had surgery that helped release the tendon in her hand that had been locked up due to the years of inactivity.

“It was bent so bad, but now the hand’s doing good. The hand is just a miracle,” Means adds. “They are going to do the other hand and both feet. She needs that so she can stand.”

She says Flewellen has even come to terms with the fact that her husband has moved on and her boys are now men — she even has a granddaughter, Daeton's 18-month-old daughter Nyla Ann, who shares her middle name.

"I told her, you got Nyla. We don't see her a lot, but if they were still young you wouldn't have Nyla," Means says. "So you got something good. They get older, and then you get grandkids."

Another part of growing up? Her youngest son, who is 18 and a graduating senior, will be going off to Lake Erie College in the fall, where he'll keep playing football. Means says the family hopes to make the trip to at least one of his games next year.

But for now, Flewellen — who is preparing to celebrate her 42nd birthday on May 19 with her family — savors every moment her busy boys can give her.

“Mother’s Day was the best day,” Flewellen tells PEOPLE. “It was special and (Daeton) is too.”

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