Teen Wakes Up from Weeks-Long Coma Unable to Speak Until Taylor Swift's Music Helps Her Find Her Voice (Exclusive)

Ashley Vega, Sara BelcherWed, May 27, 2026 at 8:23 PM UTC

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Kennedy Alexander during recorvery; Kennedy Alexander
Credit: Kennedy Alexander -

Kennedy Alexander was placed into an induced coma after complications from a 14-hour surgery left her lungs too weak to breathe on their own

When she woke up, the then-17-year-old struggled to speak and began using Taylor Swift songs during speech therapy

Alexander says tracks from Midnights, especially “Is It Over Now?,” became part of her recovery journey

Kennedy Alexander lost weeks of her life after complications from a 14-hour surgery left her in an induced coma at 17 years old. When she finally woke up, she learned she had missed her birthday — and could barely speak.

At one point during her recovery in 2022, the now-20-year-old Indiana nursing student remembers turning to her father with one heartbreaking question: was it still her birthday?

“Honey, your birthday was three weeks ago,” he told her.

Kennedy Alexander during her recovery
Credit: Kennedy Alexander

Alexander had undergone major surgery in July 2022 before complications left her lungs too weak to breathe on their own. Doctors ultimately kept her intubated for weeks while she recovered after one of her lungs collapsed and she experienced dangerous blood loss.

Weeks later, when she finally regained consciousness, Alexander says frustration set in almost immediately after she realized she could barely use her voice.

“I remember being very angry and frustrated,” Alexander tells PEOPLE. “I would try to use my voice, but no noise would come out.”

At first, she communicated by typing messages into her father’s phone while recovering in the hospital. It would take months of rehabilitation and speech therapy before she could properly speak again.

“It wasn’t until a week after being extubated that I was able to make a peep,” she says.

Recovery extended far beyond speech alone. Alexander also had to relearn how to walk, swallow and rebuild her strength after spending so much time bedridden.

“I needed to work on putting one foot in front of the other and walking again,” she says.

But during speech therapy, one unexpected thing became part of her recovery process: Taylor Swift’s music. In a viral TikTok, Alexander showcased her progress as she sang her heart out to "Is It Over Now?" from 1989 (Taylor's Version).

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“My therapist heard I was a big fan of Taylor, so we decided to implement her music and her newly released album, Midnights, into my therapy routine,” Alexander says.

Swift’s music had already been woven throughout much of her life. Some of Alexander’s earliest memories involve singing songs like “Picture to Burn” and “Should’ve Said No” with her mom in the car after preschool.

“As far back as my memory goes, Taylor’s music has always been there,” she says.

One song in particular eventually became a difficult but meaningful speech exercise. “I can only remember using ‘Is It Over Now’ in therapy because it was the most challenging in terms of word speed and enunciation,” she says.

Today, Alexander still experiences lasting effects from the ordeal and now has an implant to help strengthen her voice. But despite the challenges, she says sharing her story online and seeing people connect with it has been emotional in its own way.

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Kennedy Alexander's graduation cap
Credit: Kennedy Alexander

“I think it’s cool that so many people understood it as a good thing that I used Taylor’s music,” she says. “I love reading all the comments.”

And years after waking up to discover she had missed her own birthday, Alexander says Swift’s music still represents something much bigger in her life: resilience.

At her 2024 high school graduation, she included a lyric from Swift’s song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” on her graduation cap: “I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this.”

"I claim [that] as a song that deeply resonates with me and my life," she adds. "I was proud to graduate with that quote written across my grad cap!"

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”