Donora woman to share her story on ‘Dr. Oz’ show

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
A Donora woman’s terrifying experience with sleep paralysis throughout her life has recently led her on an adventure that has made her “light up.”
Barbara Simon Coomer, 62, will step into the spotlight Friday when she appears on the “Dr. Oz” show to speak about her own experiences with sleep paralysis.
Her segment will appear on the “Dr. Oz” show 10 a.m. Friday.
Locally, the “Dr. Oz” show is aired on WTAE-TV.
Sleep paralysis is when, during waking up or falling asleep, a person is aware but unable to move or speak.
According to sleepeducation.org, it is common for people to be unable to move or speak and sometimes to see and or hear things that are not there.
Coomer said she has experienced this nearly a dozen times throughout her life, though it has not happened in recent years.
“If it happens once, just once, you will never forget it,” Coomer said.
She said some people associate sleep paralysis with a nightmare, but in reality it is “much worse.”
“In a nightmare you are asleep and maybe running away from a monster or falling or even drowning and in a completely different world,” she said. “This is real. It’s happening in your own world and you are totally awake.”
For Coomer, she said her sleep paralysis usually happened as she was falling asleep.
“It would happen really quickly,” she said. “I could see things going on around me. Hear my husband talking or my dog walking and then all of a sudden I am frozen. It’s like being trapped in your own body, not being able to move a muscle and wanting to scream even though nothing comes out.
“It’s two minutes of total fear, being so scared because you are trying to move and you can’t. It’s a complete feeling of dread and evilness you can’t escape from until it is over.”
Research shows that 65% of people will experience sleep paralysis in their life.
While it is not life threatening, it is unnerving, Coomer said.
“It has not happened to me for a few years, but at one point it happened twice in the same week and I was terrified to try to go to sleep,” she said.
Though she knew it was a common experience, she never thought she would have the opportunity to talk about it on a popular television show that would be seen by millions of viewers.
She was feeling “down in the dumps” several weeks ago as the warmer weather turned cool and she had to close her in-ground pool and summer backyard oasis. Her spirits quickly lifted when she found something in her email that sparked her interest.
“I had an email blast from the ‘Dr. Oz’ show asking for people who have experienced sleep paralysis,” she said. “I clicked on it, answered a few questions and 10 minutes later, I was on the phone with the producers from New York.”
Two days later, the producers booked her a first-class flight to fly out to the Big Apple to appear on the show.
Coomer left Donora around 4:30 a.m. last Monday to start a jam-packed, 36-hour adventure.
When she arrived in New York City, she was the given the red-carpet treatment.
Before heading to the studio on Tuesday, she visited the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Trump Tower and rode on a double decker bus.
“If you name it, I did it,” she said.
In her segment, she talks about her own experiences and Dr. Oz outlines the different stages of sleep.
A medium will also appear on the show to discuss sleep paralysis and its relation — if any — to the paranormal.
She documented her entire journey on Facebook live to give Mon Valley residents a first-hand peek at what it was like being a television star for a day.
The “Dr. Oz” appearance wasn’t her first experience on a TV show.
In 2002, Coomer appeared on an episode of “Oprah” starring Dr. Phil and was invited back to the show in 2007 for a weight-loss challenge, where she was followed by producers for one year to document her journey.
She also spoke on one of Oprah Winfrey’s radio shows, where she found her true calling.
In 2007, at 50 years old, she enrolled in broadcasting school in Orlando, Fla. and went on to land several gigs on the air under her moniker “Best Life Barb,” a nick-name given to her by Oprah herself.
Since then, Coomer has ran with her celebrity nickname and posts videos each week aimed to inspire and empower those around her.
“I like to document my adventures so people can see what it is like to see and do these things,” she said. “It is one thing to talk about it, or post words about it, but to show people in real time the things I am doing is really exciting.”
Coomer currently works part-time as the director of first impressions for a local doctor’s office.
She lives in Donora with her husband Randy and has four children, Brian Lewis and his wife Tabitha of Donora; Brodie Lewis and his wife Sara of Pittsburgh; Randy Luke Smith and his husband Richard of Pittsburgh; and Rachael Smith of Donora.
She has five grandchildren, Zayne, Ayden, Kennedy, Eli and Cameron.
Coomer one day hopes to become a full-time motivational speaker, but until then, Best Life Barb’s favorite name remains “Mimi.”
“My name is Barbara, and a lot of people know me as Best Life Barb, but my favorite name is Mimi,” she said. “I love my grand babies, and I love my community. I hope through this and my other adventures, I can show them and all of my neighbors and friends that if you set your goals on something you can do anything. Even when you are from a small town like Donora, when you find something that lights you up and you run with it, anything can happen.”