Woman wakes up 3 days after life-support machine turned off

[Hum]

A woman on the verge of death after her heart stopped for 45 minutes stunned doctors when she woke up three days later - and made a full recovery.

Carol Brothers, 63, suffered a massive heart attack while shopping and was kept alive by CPR administered by her daughter Maxine Dickinson, 43.

She was rushed to hospital where doctors later gave her 24 hours to live and advised her family to say their final goodbyes.

Her medication was withdrawn so she could pass away peacefully - but the mother-of-three suddenly woke up three days later while having her face washed by a nurse.

She made a remarkable recovery and was discharged from hospital three weeks later.

Mrs Dickinson, of Potterne, Wiltshire, has now described how the family were devastated when they were told that her mother would die.

She said: ?We were told she had minimal brain activity and the kindest thing to do would be to withdraw medications and let her slip away.

?Everyone was beside themselves, we were just so distraught.

?We all said goodbye to her and just sat by the phone waiting for the call to say she had gone. But we waited three days and it never came so I went down to visit her.

?When I got there a doctor said to me ?I don't know how to tell you this, but your mum is not going to die. We have got to reverse the decision.?

?I just broke down in tears. I couldn't believe it. It was absolutely fantastic news.

?Apparently a nurse had been washing her face and doing her daily checks when mum just opened her eyes and began tracking her around the room.

?I went to see mum a few days later and she whispered three words to me, ?I'm coming home?. :happy:

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[compl3x]

Amazing story. Happy for them. :D

[Guest]

This is why I don't want to be either burned or buried for at least a week when I 'die'.

[Hum]

Her medication was withdrawn ...

This is what saved her. ;)

[Detection]

^^ Probably yea, sometimes the organs, ie. heart need time off to recover then they will work fine again, unfortunately when they heart does this, the rest of the body need something else to keep it alive

[Draconian Guppy]

Never take your doctors word I guess :s

[compl3x]

This is what saved her. ;)

Next time you are sick, don't go to the doctor.

This is why I don't want to be either burned or buried for at least a week when I 'die'.

She didn't die and then come back to life. Life support was turned off and she was expected to die, but didn't.

[Detection]

Next time you are sick, don't go to the doctor.

I never do, the last time I went to the doctors was actually for a life and death situation, and the help they gave me was something I could have done myself, and did.

Not saying they are useless, but if you have a decent brain in your head you can generally survive on your own.

[Hum]

^ I avoid doctors like the plague -- they only know 2 things: drugs and surgery. :laugh:

[compl3x]

^ I avoid doctors like the plague -- they only know 2 things: drugs and surgery. :laugh:

Life expectancy has more than doubled in the last ~200 years. Modern medicine must be doing something right.

Most doctors plead with their patients to do more exercise, quit smoking, stop drinking too much, eat healthier. A lot of medicine is preventative, not curative. If people are too dumb to listen it isn't the doctors' fault.

[Growled Member]

Our bodies are just amazing and can still do things that confound doctors.

[Detection]

Our bodies are just amazing and can still do things that confound doctors.

Agreed, I'm still here

[peacemf]

Life expectancy has more than doubled in the last ~200 years. Modern medicine must be doing something right.

Most doctors plead with their patients to do more exercise, quit smoking, stop drinking too much, eat healthier. A lot of medicine is preventative, not curative. If people are too dumb to listen it isn't the doctors' fault.

But what if your doctor is fat and doesn't exercise?!!!! Kris cross! :p it's 2am here. And I can't sleep :(

[Detection]

But what if your doctor is fat and doesn't exercise?!!!! Kris cross! :p it's 2am here. And I can't sleep :(

Quite a few are, Its easier to give advice than to take your own

[Growled Member]

^ I avoid doctors like the plague -- they only know 2 things: drugs and surgery. :laugh:

Same here, Hum. If I go to the doctor it's a matter of life and death and not a second before.

[FloatingFatMan]

Wait.. So, they just buggered off home and waiting for someone to phone that she was dead?

I'm glad I don't have those bunch of heartless bleeps for a family!

When my mum passed away some years ago, we knew it was coming, and one of us was at her side 24/7 until she passed! She held on as as long as she could, until the last of us had travelled the needed distance to be there and say our goodbyes (despite the Alzheimers having taken away who she was a long time ago), and then quietly passed in the night, with my dad and 2 of other of us with her.

I just cannot fathom that someone would just leave it to a stranger to phone them with that kind of news. How could you leave a loved one to die alone like that?

At least they were lucky and didn't lose their mum.

[compl3x]

But what if your doctor is fat and doesn't exercise?!!!! Kris cross! :p it's 2am here. And I can't sleep :(

Can him/her a hypocrite, but nonetheless heed their advice. :p

[Azusa]

Life expectancy has more than doubled in the last ~200 years. Modern medicine must be doing something right.

Most doctors plead with their patients to do more exercise, quit smoking, stop drinking too much, eat healthier. A lot of medicine is preventative, not curative. If people are too dumb to listen it isn't the doctors' fault.

You say that but i will always laugh when i see people who have the very definition of an unhealthy life style live well into their 80s but people who do all the running and healthy eating suddenly drop dead in their 30s.

[tiagosilva29]

You say that but i will always laugh when i see people who have the very definition of an unhealthy life style live well into their 80s but people who do all the running and healthy eating suddenly drop dead in their 30s.

Outliers? Must be magic or something.

[compl3x]

You say that but i will always laugh when i see people who have the very definition of an unhealthy life style live well into their 80s but people who do all the running and healthy eating suddenly drop dead in their 30s.

They are exceptions to the rule. It is cool to hear about some dude who is 90 and still smokes a pack a day and drinks like a fish, but I can assure you he is in an incredibly small minority.

Sometimes healthy people will die because they have an underlying health issue they were unaware of. That isn't an argument for unhealthy living.

[FloatingFatMan]

Being super duper health concious can be just as bad for you as being really obese. The right lifestyle is one of balance, with all things taken and done in moderation.

[xendrome]

This is why I don't want to be either burned or buried for at least a week when I 'die'.

Well when you remove life support, the person is still alive, until they finally die. Sometimes people are strong enough and don't die... and this happens. So it's not like they took life support away and instantly she was dead. She never died.

[Growled Member]

Being super duper health concious can be just as bad for you as being really obese. The right lifestyle is one of balance, with all things taken and done in moderation.

I think many forget that in our health conscious society.

[giantsnyy]

Same here, Hum. If I go to the doctor it's a matter of life and death and not a second before.

See a D.O. They'll look into natural and holistic approaches to curing you before drugs and surgery.

Edit: I am a bit biased since that's what I'm studying to become.

[Hum]

^ I see the Internet first. ;)