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Dead—Not Dead! (Mistaken Reports & Declarations Of Death)

There was a famous case, don't know specifics, it's my anecdotal recollection...

During the late 17th or early 18th century many of the cadavers used for medicine were from people who had been executed.

Apparently, one of the professors while teaching his class, noticed signs of life in one of the convicts. He decided to go ahead with the dissection anyways. If the pseudo-dead subject of dissection was found to be alive, he would just be carted away and executed again. What would be the point, other than a whole lot of bother?

pretty sure this is a famous account, the doctor was either british or french. Other people on the board probably know much more about this.
 
Seven-hour fight to save toddler

A toddler was revived more than seven hours after he was found face down in his family's pond.

Doctors believe the fight to save two-year-old Joe Towey, from Birmingham, was the longest resuscitation ever carried out in the UK.

Eight doctors and nurses led by Dr Nick Makwana revived the boy at Heartlands Hospital in the city.

His father Michael said: "I don't know if he survived because of his strength or because he is lucky."

Using cardiac massage equipment, the medical team worked for more than five hours to make his heart beat again and another two stabilising him.

The youngster was then taken to North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent where he stayed on a life-support machine for two weeks.

Joe had been found in the pond by his father and mother, Jennifer Nock, at his home in the Hall Green area of Birmingham on Boxing Day morning last year.

'Best moment'

Dr Makwana said the boy survived because the cold water, coupled with the chilly winter weather and his small size, caused his temperature to plummet suddenly.

He said this sent him effectively into a deep freeze which had prevented significant brain injury.

The doctor added: "Even when we managed to find his heartbeat, it was still a very critical situation.

"We had to be very guarded. We were very conscious that he could be brain damaged."

Mr Towey said it was the "best moment" of his life when he knew Joe had pulled through.

He said: "I don't know if he survived because of his strength or because he is lucky."

But Joe's father said his two large ponds will not be filled in despite the near tragedy.

He added: "I don't see that it benefits anybody to be so scared of everything. Accidents happen."



BBCi News 14/07/04
 
A Russian taxi driver got a rude shock when he discovered his blind ex-wife, who thought he had died in an explosion, had him buried in a Moscow cemetery, a newspaper reports.

Oleg Lunkov learned of his apparent death when he applied for a passport and was told he died in a bomb blast on Moscow's metro on February 6. His ex-wife thought he was on the train, but being blind, she got her mother to identify the remains.

"I thought, 'I hope they didn't bury me on my birthday'," Lunkov told the Moscow Times after visiting his grave in southeastern Moscow. "But it turns out they did."

The grave has been exhumed by police investigating his wife for possible fraud.

Lunkov's name still appears on prosecutors' official list of the 38 people who died in the explosion.
Original link for the story as quoted above was not given. Here is the UPI version of Lunkov's story:
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2004/0...e/59241089913216/?spt=rel_sp&cnt=&or=on&ur3=1
 
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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10497911%255E1702,00.html

Child kidnapper wakes up in coffin
From correspondents in Beijing
August 19, 2004

A MAN who was shot by police after kidnapping two children and then shipped off to be cremated was found to be alive by funeral workers who heard him groan, state media and local officials said today.

Zhang Kailin, 36, was shot at point-blank range and fell to the ground from a five-storey window ledge after a tense two-hour standoff at a school in central Hebei province Tuesday, the Beijing Daily Messenger said.

He had taken two children hostage and demanded 2500 yuan (2.5) ransom before police moved in.

The paper said his body was put in a coffin and taken to a funeral home where it was to be refrigerated before being cremated.

But funeral home workers heard a groan on opening the coffin and were shocked to find the man still alive. They rushed him to hospital.

"This has never happened before. Workers were opening the coffin for a photo examination and heard the man groan," the funeral home director surnamed Zhang said. "We were shocked."

Police in Shijiazhuang city refused to comment. There was no word on Zhang's condition nor whether the children were hurt.
 
With mad pics
Embedded link is dead. The MIA news article (with photos; quoted in full below) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040824042005/https://www.livejournal.com/users/gulsukat/381363.html


A MAN who was shot by police after kidnapping two children and then shipped off to be cremated was found to be alive by funeral workers who heard him groan. Zhang Kailin, 36, was shot at point-blank range and fell to the ground from a five-storey window ledge after a tense two-hour standoff at a school in central Hebei province, the Beijing Daily Messenger said. He had taken two children hostage and demanded ransom before police moved in.

The paper said his body was put in a coffin and taken to a funeral home where it was to be refrigerated before being cremated. But funeral home workers heard a groan on opening the coffin and were shocked to find the man still alive. They rushed him to hospital. "This has never happened before. Workers were opening the coffin for a photo examination and heard the man groan," said the funeral home director surnamed Zhang. "We were shocked." Police in Shijiazhuang city refused to comment. There was no word on Zhang's condition nor whether the children were hurt.
 
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Although not mentioned in this account, it was the non-dead man's sister who identified the corpse as her brother. (She was interviewed on TV last night.) I wonder how often bodies are misidentified by distraught family members?

GO train victim calls during own funeral

Toronto — The family of a Newfoundland man is overjoyed after discovering he hadn't been killed in a train accident after all.

Police in Toronto had identified Dane Squires as the man killed while crossing the track of a Toronto GO train last Friday.

But, during his funeral in Toronto Thursday, Squires called his daughter Trina to report he was alive and well.

The body on the GO tracks had been found without identification, and the family had contacted police to report Squires missing.

Toronto police are saying the dead man remains unidentified, and Squires' family is bewildered.

"We've been mourning in Newfoundland and in Toronto, everywhere in total shock," says Dane's brother Gilbert of St. Philip's, Newfoundland.

"They just loaded Dane's body in the hearse and the funeral director comes and says somebody would like to speak to you on the phone and Dane's daughter Trina took the phone. This was Dane on the phone, so she actually thought that she was dead or talking to a ghost or something and just about lost her mind," he says.

Squires says it's not unusual for his brother, who stays with his sister in Toronto, to visit friends for four or five days and then come back.

His brother didn't realize there was any problem until he read his own obituary in the newspaper.

Squires says his brother is taking his "death" with good humour.

"He said, 'I've got a new name. I haven't decided what it's going to be'. And I said what would that be and he said, 'I'm either going to call myself Lazarus or Jesus.'"

Toronto police are now looking for the true identity of the victim.

They describe the dead man as white, six feet tall, 180 lbs., age 40-45, with receding short brownish red hair, a beard and extensive tartar build up on his teeth.

He was wearing blue nylon track pants and a grey T-shirt when found.

http://toronto.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=tor_040917
 
naitaka: I moved that to this thread which deals with mishaps involving people being declared prematurely dead as I was just going to post this report here on the same thing:

Nfld. man telephones during own funeral

Last Updated Fri, 17 Sep 2004 22:40:54 EDT

ST. PHILIP'S, NFLD. - The family of a Newfoundland man is overjoyed but looking for answers after he phoned during his own funeral to let them know he hadn't been killed in a Toronto commuter train accident after all.

Gilbert Squires of St. Philip's, Nfld., said he got a call on Sunday afternoon saying his brother Dane had been killed by a train.

Police in Toronto said a sister had identified the retired welder as the man killed while crossing a GO Train track last Friday.

"The body was badly mutilated," said Gilbert. "We've been mourning in Newfoundland and in Toronto, everywhere. We're in total shock."

But during Thursday's funeral in Toronto, Dane Squires called his daughter Trina to report that he was alive and well.

"They [had] just loaded Dane's body in the hearse and the funeral director comes and says, 'Somebody would like to speak to you on the phone,' and Dane's daughter Trina took the phone," said Gilbert Squires.

"This was Dane on the phone, so she actually thought that she was dead or talking to a ghost or something and just about lost her mind."

Squires said it's not unusual for his brother to visit friends in Toronto for four or five days.

Dane Squires didn't realize there was any problem until he read his own obituary in the newspaper, his brother said. Then he called his sister's house to let her know he was alive, and found out his funeral was underway.

After the accident, Toronto police had appealed to the public to assist them in identifying the body.

A spokesperson, Det.-Const. Dave Stirling, told the Toronto Sun that Squires's sister viewed the victim's body and identified it as that of her brother.

"There must have been a likeness," Stirling said. "It certainly is an unfortunate circumstance. It's certainly a shock."

The accident victim's body has now been returned to the coroner's office and police are again trying to identify him. The dead man was between 45 and 50, with a beard and short, reddish-brown hair.

Gilbert Squires said his brother is taking his "death" with good humour.

"He said, 'I've got a new name. I haven't decided what it's going to be.' And I said, 'What would that be?' And he said, 'I'm either going to call myself Lazarus or Jesus.''"

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/09/17/funeral040917.html
 
Unbreakable?

Two reported dead actually survived plane crash

Thursday, September 23, 2004 Posted: 0126 GMT (0926 HKT)



KALISPELL, Montana (AP) -- Two people who were reported killed in a plane crash on Monday emerged alive from rugged Montana wilderness Wednesday, authorities said.

The two U.S. Forest Service employees reached a highway after making their way on foot through mountains in northwestern Montana, said Denise Germann, a spokeswoman for the Flathead National Forest.

The pair turned up one day after both the Flathead County sheriff and the Forest Service had announced their deaths. Three others died in the crash.

"Initially we thought there were no survivors, but now there are two," Germann said.

Jodee Hogg, 23, of Billings, and Matthew Ramige, 29, of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, walked away from the crash site and were spotted by a road Wednesday afternoon, Germann said.

Hogg was listed in stable condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. Ramige was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for burn treatment.

Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont had said Tuesday that it appeared all five people on board the small plane died on impact. The crash also started a fire.

Jim Long, 60, of Kalispell was piloting the plane. Also on board were Ken Good, 58, of Whitefish, an employee of the Flathead National Forest, and Davita Bryant, 32, of Whitefish.

Hogg, Ramige and Bryant were assigned to the Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Station in Fort Collins, Colorado, but worked out of the station's office in Ogden, Utah.

"Can you imagine these families?" asked Bob Bryant, father-in-law of Davita Bryant. "They've been told their kids are dead. And now they are resurrected," he said in an interview with The (Kalispell) Daily Inter Lake.

Linda Woods of Whitefish, a friend of one victim and survivor Ramige, said she had helped organize a group to search for survivors but their offer to help was declined Tuesday.

"There were 100 people waiting in Whitefish to do this. It's possible we could have been very useful and saved some people some suffering," she told the newspaper.

"Last night, we sat on the couch and cried instead of being out hiking and searching. And we just accepted what we were told," she said.

The plane crashed en route to a grass landing strip at Schafer Meadows Guard Station, near the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in the Great Bear-Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

The four workers aboard the plane intended to conduct an annual vegetation inventory and repair telecommunication facilities, Germann said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/09/22/crash.survivors.ap/index.html
 
To be honest I'd probably run away too:

'Dead' man waking, morgue staff running

October 8, 2004

By Thobani Ngqulunga

Mortuary attendants in Durban were shocked this week when a man, who had been declared dead by paramedics and taken to a government mortuary, suddenly started breathing and woke up in front of them.

Gale Street Mortuary Unit Commander Thegran Moodley said: "The man had been involved in a car accident somewhere in the Umbumbulu area at the weekend. After the paramedics had certified him dead, my staff were called in to fetch the body."

After arriving at the mortuary the attendants had been preparing to label the body when the man had started breathing heavily and had woken up.

"The attendants ran away because they were shocked," said Moodley.

"We called the paramedics to come and attend to this person who had regained life. They took him to King Edward VIII Hospital for treatment."

Hospital staff confirmed last night that a man had been sent to the hospital from the Gale Street mortuary, but refused to give any details.

Moodley said the attendants were being treated for shock.

http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=283&fArticleId=2253652

DURBAN

Resurrected man in critical condition

Wendy Jasson da Costa
Posted Fri, 08 Oct 2004

A man who shocked hardened Durban policemen after "rising from the dead" a week ago was still in a critical condition at the King Edward hospital on Friday.

Hospital spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said a social worker had been appointed to trace the family of the man known as Victor Mbatha from AA section in Umlazi.

Sibiya said Mbatha (40), was in a semi-conscious condition in the surgical ward. His right eye was in a bad state and he could not talk.

The head of the police's Gale Street Mortuary Unit, Superintendent Thegran Moodley, told Sapa on Friday the two officers who were on duty the night Mbatha was brought in were having sleepless nights and undergoing psychological treatment after seeing Mbatha rise from the dead "on the stroke of midnight".

Moodley said Mbatha had been involved in a car accident in Umbumbulu Road in Umlazi and was certified dead by paramedics on the scene.

His body was fetched by Inspector Khaya Chiliza who "got the fright of his life" when he opened the van at the mortuary to place a tag on the body and Mbatha started breathing.

Inspector Jay Singh, who was also on duty that night, said he was inside the mortuary when a visibly disturbed Chiliza approached him.

"Chiliza walked up the passage then went back to the van to check again. When he came to me he stuttered, he lit a cigarette then he took off his glasses and on his third attempt he managed to say 'Baba something terrible is happening at the back'," Singh said.

He said he refused to go the van without Chiliza because "it was midnight and I was scared".

Singh said that as they walked out to the back they could hear "heavy breathing from about five to 10 metres away, the victim was sitting up, his fingers and feet were moving and he was staring at us".

Paramedics were called to the mortuary and they took the man to hospital.

Singh said he and Mbatha never spoke about the incident again during their shift but afterwards both of them headed straight to their doctors for treatment.

He said it was impossible to book off sick because the unit was severely short-staffed but he was referred to a psychiatrist because "I have an extra heart beat now because everything puts me on edge and I'm suffering from heart palpitations".

He said he would never forget what happened because it occurred on the stroke of midnight as he was calling his daughter who had just turned 14-years-old.

And his theory on what happened that night: "The vehicle could have taken a heavy bump and started his (Mbatha's) heart beating again because Chiliza had to pick up another body before returning to the mortuary."

Chiliza, who had just returned from a psychiatrist when Sapa spoke to him, said he was "scared of his job and that he was taking medication, but feared that it could make him more mal (mad)".

He said he still could not speak about what happened because "I am very, very bad, and the dreams and the nightmares are terrible. Other people will laugh at this, but although I'm scared I just have to continue with the nature of my duties".

"I feel they should shift us from this."

Moodley said the shortage of staff meant the two inspectors could not book off work.

"We are all messed up and this is just an additional trauma that becomes part of us. These men can't sleep or anything because everywhere they go they see this body in front of them."

http://iafrica.com/news/sa/352181.htm
 
"Moodley said the shortage of staff meant the two inspectors could not book off work"

Quite right too. We can't have people shirking off work simply because the dead are coming back to life.
 
Emperor said:
To be honest I'd probably run away too

I was just thinking about this and I possibly wouldn't - I'd be looking aorund for the cameras expecting Jeremy Beadle (or at least one of his more recent inferior prankster imittaors) to jump out of cupboard with a camera crew. This doesn't bode well for people's survival in the early stages of a zombie apocalypse ;)
 
Dead woman returns to vote

Greets

Dead woman returns to vote

A Romanian family who believed they buried their daughter two years ago were shocked when she came home to vote.

The family from Pildesti, Neamt county, addressed local police when their 22-year-old daughter didn't return home in July 2003.

After a few days of investigation police found a dead body on a river bank and identified her as the missing girl.

Even her father, brother and some neighbours confirmed it was her and they had nothing else to do than take care of her funeral.

One of the relatives told Ziarul daily: "The deceased girl looked very much the same like the missing one: same height, same brown hair, even the haircut was the same and she wore similar clothes. We thought we buried our relative".

But after almost two years from the funeral the dead girl came back home by taxi.

She told her family she went to visit a friend in a remote town and found a job there.

She said she decided to return because she wanted to cast her vote in a poll regarding the revision of the Constitution.

Because she is officially dead the now 24-year-old girl has to wait for a court decision which will confirm she is alive while police are trying to find the real identity of the dead woman.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1249959.html

mal
 
Examiner Finds Man Breathing in Morgue


Jan 26, 4:14 PM (ET)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A medical examiner studying a body in a morgue was startled when the man took a shallow breath. Emergency medical technicians had declared 29-year-old Larry D. Green dead almost two hours earlier, after he was hit by a car.

Medical examiner J.B. Perdue was called to the accident scene Monday but did not examine Green then. Later, he was documenting Green's injuries when he noticed the man was breathing.

"I had to look twice myself just to make sure it was there, that's how subtle it was," Perdue said.

Green, 29, was taken to Duke University Medical Center in Durham, where he was in critical condition Tuesday.

Several members of the Franklin County emergency medical service have been suspended pending an investigation, said Darnell Batton, the county attorney.

Source
 
Something that happened to some relatives of mine seems to fit in with this topic.

My cousin was in a serious car accident about 8 years ago. He was badly injured and a friend of his was killed. Apparently the friend looked quite like him, plus the body was maimed, so his mother and sister identified the body as his. Nobody realised the mistake until my cousin woke up in hospital.
 
Just goes to show how stress can lead anyone to make a mistake. And it won't have made your cousin feel any better, I guess.
 
Another followup:

Paramedics punished for declaring man dead


RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) - Paramedics who mistakenly declared an accident victim dead have had their credentials suspended after the man began breathing at the morgue.

Paramedics Wade Kearney II and Paul Kilmer were disciplined Monday for rules violations, according to the state Office of Emergency Medical Service. They are among four paramedics who have been suspended with pay.

Larry Green, 29, was struck by a car Jan. 24 and pronounced dead at the scene. Two hours later, a medical examiner at the morgue saw Green take a shallow breath and realized he was alive. Green remained in critical condition Monday.

State law requires emergency workers to start resuscitation immediately if there is doubt over whether a victim is dead. Neither Kilmer nor Kearney did so, the agency found.

Officials have said none of the paramedics attached Green to an electrocardiogram monitor, which gives an electric reading of the heart.

Source
 
I'm usnure where this will go but here is a dead man serving his time and eventually possibly being up for parole:

Beyond bizarre

He may be dead, but he's eligible for parole

Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 3, 2005

What does it take to get declared dead in California, anyway?

The question isn't as dumb as it may seem. Consider:

A person who is declared brain dead is legally and physiologically dead. "Brain dead" is dead.

By that standard, a Wasco State Prison inmate surely qualifies as being dead. So why is he being treated as alive?

The prisoner, Daniel Provencio, has been at Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield since he was shot in the head with a "foam" bullet by a prison guard Jan. 16. Members of Provencio's family told the Bakersfield Californian that doctors declared him clinically dead the morning of Jan. 20 after tests found no brain activity.

Under California law, the hospital must do two examinations by two different doctors to determine death. If the patient meets all criteria for death on both examinations, this is noted in the medical record at the time of the second exam and is recorded as the time of death. The coroner's office typically is called as soon as death is declared.

Yet Provencio's mother said Wasco Warden P.L. Vazquez expects Provencio to "serve out his sentence" from a hospital bed. The family has asked obvious questions: "If he's dead, why are they keeping him? How does a dead man do time?"

Here's how. Provencio is on a mechanical ventilator and a feeding tube, even though he's dead. And he's shackled to the bed by both ankles, even though he's dead. He's being guarded by prison guards 'round-the-clock at a cost of $1,056-a-day, even though he's dead.

No, we are not making this up. But the absurdities don't end there.

The Department of Corrections apparently now is considering a "compromise" that might allow the dead man to be released on "early parole."

Obviously, this preposterous situation can't go on. The hospital needs to step forward and make a definitive declaration: Is Provencio dead? If yes, what was his time of death, and why hasn't he been released for burial?

Time of death is recorded on a patient's chart as the time he met the criteria of brain death. If he's not dead, who told the family that Provencio is "brain dead," which is dead-dead? Either the family is being denied the right to bury their relative or they have been subjected to a huge hoax.

The absurdities aren't confined to the handling of Provencio's current condition. Consider the chain of events that led to the present situation.

At Wasco State Prison on Jan. 16, two inmates were fighting; Provencio apparently tried to prevent prison guards from intervening.

KGET-TV 17 News reported that the incident was an "alcohol-fueled brawl between inmates." Officers told the station that inmates brew fruit and other food ingredients. A guard shot Provencio in the head, though "foam" bullets are meant to be fired at a person's legs and arms.

Alcohol production and brawls. Shooting inmates in the head. Shackling and guarding a dead inmate. What is going on at this prison? The Department of Corrections needs to get control of this out-of-control institution. And it needs to end the macabre saga of the (apparently) late Daniel Provencio.

Source
 
Man Mistakenly Deemed Dead Leaves Hospital

Mon Mar 14,11:57 AM ET


LOUISBURG, N.C. - A man who was hit by a car and mistakenly declared dead is out of the hospital and continuing his recovery in a rehabilitation center, relatives said.

Larry Green was hit by a car the night of Jan. 24 as he walked home after buying beer.

Green, 29, was examined on the scene by paramedics and a medical examiner, declared dead and his body taken to a morgue. There, 2 1/2 hours after the accident, the same medical examiner detected signs of life. He was hospitalized.

Family members said Green was released from Duke Hospital late last week and was in a care facility in Wilson. Family friend Abdul Ahmed said his progress has been slow but promising.

Green suffered a severe head injury, broken leg and is paralyzed.

"When you call his name he can understand you want to talk to him, and when he looks at you he knows who you are," Ahmed said.

Two of the four paramedics who treated Green were fired and their credentials suspended, though the credential of one has been reinstated pending an administrative hearing. The other two were ordered to take remedial training. The medical examiner was not disciplined.

Source
 
I suspect this fits in here as does the suggestion that it is God doing some nifty raising from the dead.

It was posted on a few sites with interesting headlines (and yes both were in block caps ;) ):

GOD REJECTS MAN'S SUICIDE! SENDS HIM BACK TO LIVE OUT HIS DAYS AND DIE A NORMAL DEATH

www.rumormillnews.com

ETHICAL SUICIDE - 'DEAD' MAN SEES GOD, WAKES ON 3RD DAY

www.bringemon.org/cgi-bin/bringemon.cgi?read=2034

'Why am I not dead?'

Friday, March 04, 2005
DON COLBURN

An Estacada man's attempt at doctor-assisted suicide last month took a bizarre turn when he woke from a coma nearly three days later and lived for two more weeks.

David E. Prueitt, 42, who had lung cancer, died at home of natural causes Feb. 15 -- 16 days after he ingested a supposedly lethal dose of medication prescribed by one of his doctors in accordance with Oregon's Death With Dignity Act.

Barbara Coombs Lee, co-president of the assisted-suicide advocacy group Compassion & Choices, confirmed Prueitt's case Thursday after family members went public with details.

"He did take a complete dose and slept soundly for 65 hours," Lee said. "Then he awakened. He suffered no ill effects. He was fully capable and competent -- and surprised."

Prueitt's wife, Lynda Romig Prueitt, recalled that when he woke early Feb. 2, he asked: "What the hell happened? Why am I not dead?"

He survived 13 more days, coherent and alert, she said, before dying of his cancer.

The Prueitt case epitomizes the potential complications surrounding one of the most passionately debated issues in U.S. politics. Doctor-assisted suicide is fraught with medical, legal and ethical controversy. The Bush administration is trying to overturn the Oregon statute, saying it violates federal drug laws. The Supreme Court agreed last month to review the case.

"By any standard, this is a failed attempt," said Dr. Greg Hamilton, a Portland psychiatrist and former president of Physicians for Compassionate Care, a group against assisted suicide.

"That's one of the reasons we oppose assisted suicide. The dying process is prolonged and inhumane, and it's traumatic for the family."

Oregon is the only state in which doctor-assisted suicide is legal. Under Oregon law, a doctor can prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a terminally ill patient of sound mind who makes the request orally and in writing and meets other requirements. The patient must swallow the drug; it cannot be administered.

During the first six years of the Oregon law, 171 people died by doctor-assisted suicide -- about one in 1,000 deaths. Oregon's seventh annual report, with 2004 data, is due out next Thursday.

"We now have our first true complication after more than 200 successful cases" of assisted suicide, said Lee, who helped draft the Oregon law. Her group resulted from the recent merger of Portland-based Compassion in Dying Federation and Denver-based End-of-Life Choices.

During 2001, an assisted-suicide patient took 37 hours to die after ingesting a lethal dose, and in 2003, a patient took 48 hours. But neither regained consciousness.

Unbearable pain

Prueitt first raised the issue of suicide in October, when his pain became unbearable, his wife said. After he threatened to shoot himself, she said, she approached Compassion in Dying of Oregon, a group that helps patients and families who inquire about doctor-assisted suicide.

Prueitt began the formal process of requesting a doctor-assisted suicide in early January and later received a prescription for 100 capsules of Seconal, a type of barbiturate.

On Jan. 30, dressed in a blue T-shirt and lying on a couch in the living room of his Estacada home, Prueitt swallowed the drug overdose, which had been mixed with applesauce and water, and sweetened with Lactulose, an anti-constipation drug.

Among those present were his wife, her mother, a friend and two volunteers from Compassion in Dying of Oregon.

In his weakened, emaciated state -- his weight had dropped from nearly 200 pounds to less than 100 -- Prueitt could barely raise the coffee mug to his lips, his wife said.

Within six minutes of swallowing the drug, he fell into a coma, she said. His breathing became fitful, but he did not die.

After waking up nearly three days later, he remained alert and talkative, she said. He chatted by telephone with his brother Steve and friends. Occasionally, he asked for water or cigarettes.

Compassion in Dying began its investigation as soon as Prueitt awakened, Lee said, and notified state officials immediately. The Oregon Department of Human Services is investigating "every possible cause" of the failed assisted suicide, Lee said, from the medication used to the absorption rate of the applesauce.

Prueitt's experience has divided his family. Janice Davidson, Prueitt's older sister, said she opposes doctor-assisted suicide for religious reasons and was shocked to find out about her brother's attempted suicide.

"I believe that if his family had been notified, David would not have done this," she said. She visited him a few days after he woke up from the drug overdose and described him as coherent.

"If it was an assisted suicide, it wasn't done right."

Prueitt had an up-and-down life. Relatives described him as a proud, hardworking logger who smoked for years. Records show that he served seven years in prison after a rape conviction.

His grown daughter, DeAnndra Rowland, said her father told her in January that he "wanted to go in his sleep." He never mentioned doctor-assisted suicide or the Death With Dignity Act, she said.

Prueitt kept his attempted suicide from most relatives and friends, his wife said, because "he didn't want them to think he was taking the easy way out."

Widow stands behind law

As problematic as her husband's death became, his widow said she still supports the law. "I don't want anybody to get in trouble for this," she said. "Compassion in Dying did their job." She said she voted for President Bush but supports Oregon's law against the administration's legal challenge.

Two days after Prueitt woke up, he told his wife he had been in the presence of God, she said. By her account, Prueitt said God had rejected his death by suicide and sent him back to live out his days and die a natural death.

Steve Prueitt, of Beaverton, David's brother, opposes doctor-assisted suicide for religious reasons and said he thinks his brother was chosen by God as an example of why assisted suicide is wrong.

"God chose David as his spokesman with reference to physician-assisted suicide, absolutely," Steve Prueitt said.


David Prueitt was under home hospice care provided by Providence Hospice. His main hospice nurse was not aware that Prueitt chose assisted suicide until after the attempt, his wife said.

Prueitt was taken by ambulance to Providence Portland Hospital for one night about a week before he died, his wife said. She said she called the hospital because he was having a panic attack and accusing her of trying to kill him. His brother arrived to reassure him that was not the case.

Prueitt was enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid insurance plan for low-income residents, his family said.

Lynda Prueitt said her husband followed the requirements of the law exactly, making two oral requests and one written request of his doctors.

"Oregonians should know that the letter and the spirit of the law were followed in this case," said Lee, of Compassion & Choices. "No medical procedure is 100 percent guaranteed."

But Dr. Kenneth Stevens, vice president of Physicians for Compassionate Care and chairman of the radiation oncology department at Oregon Health & Science University, called Prueitt's death a failed assisted suicide. The most likely reason for such a failure, he said, is that the patient did not consume the complete lethal dose.

"We've always been concerned that the dose would not always be lethal and that there would be complications. In this situation, living is considered a complication."

Source
 
Two days after Prueitt woke up, he told his wife he had been in the presence of God, she said. By her account, Prueitt said God had rejected his death by suicide and sent him back to live out his days and die a natural death.

Steve Prueitt, of Beaverton, David's brother, opposes doctor-assisted suicide for religious reasons and said he thinks his brother was chosen by God as an example of why assisted suicide is wrong.

"God chose David as his spokesman with reference to physician-assisted suicide, absolutely," Steve Prueitt said.
Seems to me like a verification of the
"Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out!" philosophy.... 8)
 
Sleeping senior ends up at B.C. morgue

Last Updated Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:25:17 EST
CBC News

VANCOUVER - A sleeping senior at a B.C. extended care facility was sent to a hospital morgue on Saturday, after being mistaken for her dead roommate.

According to Fraser Health Authority spokesperson Helen Carkner, the mix-up occurred when a driver who works for the company that transports the dead from the facility to the morgue didn't check the woman's wrist band for identification.

"He was shown by the nurse which room the [deceased] resident was in and the nurse pointed to the resident and gave the name," she told the Vancouver Sun. "She went back to the nursing station to complete the paperwork [and] for whatever reason, he picked the wrong individual."

The driver left the 87-year-old woman on a gurney in a hospital corridor. The mistake was discovered after a porter saw her move, and an employee at the extended care facility realized the mix-up and called the hospital.

The woman was taken back to the care facility in an ambulance and is doing fine, said Carkner.

She said the woman's family was understanding about what happened and satisfied that action was taken.

The driver, who was recently hired, was immediately fired.

Source
 
Woman Mistakenly Pronounced Dead Defends Fired Medic

Written by Dave Statter

Created:3/29/2005 7:35:26 PM
Last Updated:3/30/2005 4:18:43 PM


There's official confirmation now on the fate of a paramedic who mistakenly pronounced a woman dead.

An Alexandria City spokesperson tells 9 News as of Monday that medic is no longer a fire department employee.

But as Dave Statter reports, someone you might not expect is coming to the medic's defense.

Cegurna Thomas doesn't want money. She bears no hard feelings, despite being left for dead.

"I just thank god that I'm alive," says Thomas.

But that's not what one of the crew from Alexandria fire department medic unit 205 thought back on February 4th.

She left the 56-year old woman's body with police who then called the paramedics back when the officers noticed Cegurna Thomas moving and breathing.

Thomas, however, doesn't blame the medic.

But that's not what Alexandria officials think.

A city spokesperson confirms that as of Monday, the paramedic who declared Cegurna Thomas dead is no longer a city employee.

A union official said last week the other crew member received a 24 hour suspension.

A few years ago Thomas was rescued from her burning home by a neighbor, and had been revived twice after going into cardiac arrest in the hospital.

But with all her health problems Thomas, who is known in her neighborhood as the holy woman, says she's always happy to see another day.

Some Alexandria firefighters and medics are concerned that there have been no new procedures or retraining to prevent a similar mistake from being made.

Jane Malik, a spokesperson for the department, released ten pages of medical protocols and directives that have been in place for years.

Malik would only say that a quality assurance committee looked at the issue after the incident with Cegurna Thomas but made no changes.

Source
 
greets

'Dead' wife turns up 11 years later

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Thursday April 7, 2005
The Guardian

China's justice system is being haunted by a "murdered" woman who has turned up alive and well 11 years after police tortured her husband into confessing to her supposed killing.

The sudden reappearance of Zhang Zaiyu - who ran off, rather than being dumped in a reservoir as detectives claimed - has embarrassed law enforcement authorities and strengthened calls for penal reform in a country that executes more prisoners than any other.

Zhang's husband, She Xianglin, was sentenced to death in 1974, soon after his wife went missing from their village in Hubei province. The evidence against him was the unidentified body of a woman found in a nearby lake, the accusations of Zhang's family and his own "confession".

According to the Xinhua news agency, the former security guard was deprived of sleep during 10 days of interrogation until he signed a document pleading guilty to murder. A higher court later commuted the death sentence to 15 years.

In his first interview after being released, the wronged man said he wanted compensation from the state and to avoid his former wife.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1453611,00.html

mal
 
Doctor punched by 'corpse'

Hospital officials in Romania are investigating after a doctor was punched by a 'corpse' in the morgue.

The doctor had to be treated for shock after he was punched by teenager Bogdan Georgescu.

It happened after the doctor thought he saw Mr Georgescu move and bent over to investigate.

The youngster, 16, had been taken to the morgue at Brasov County Hospital in Brasov, after collapsing and showing no signs of life.

He was declared dead on arrival and his body moved to the morgue.

He said: "I woke up and had no idea where I was, I looked to the left and to the right and saw a dead woman on either side of me, and then I saw this man coming towards me in a white coat.

"I just panicked. I thought he was going to kill me."

The youngster, from Fagaras, is now being treated in the neurological ward to find out the cause of his collapse.

He said: "The last thing I remember is drinking coffee with my brother, and then I woke up in the morgue."

The doctor was allowed to take time off work after being treated for shock.

www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1397102.h ... s.quirkies
 
yeah, if i woke up in a room full of bodies i'd punch the first living person i saw too.
 
"I thought you were dead"

Mourners meet man after his funeral
From: Agence France-Presse From correspondents in London
August 30, 2005

MOURNERS who paid their last respects to a British war veteran were stunned to see him strolling through the town shortly after the funeral, newspapers said.

Friends of the former bus driver travelled from far and wide to attend the cremation after reading the death notice of a Frank Hughes in a local newspaper.
In a bizzare mix-up, the dead man being cremated had the same name and age and lived in the same northeast English town of Darlington as the mourners' beloved Frank.

Pals of the 80-year-old World War II veteran even mingled with relatives after paying their respects at the service.

No wonder they were astonished to see him wandering about the town later on.

Hughes said in The Sun newspaper: "One of them came flying across to me, saying, 'Frank, Frank, Frank, I can't believe it'.

"He said, 'I'm going to have to tell my wife straight away, she's been absolutely devastated.'
"Now I'm getting sick of people stopping me and telling me that I'm still alive."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16 ... 62,00.html
 
This is a little worrying. I have a pretty common name. In my life I have met 6 other people with the same name as me, 2 of which live locally.

I am not worried about people thinking I am dead but what if someone hires a hit man.....
 
Corpse opens eyes

November 3, 2005, 9:04:41
Bizarre News

Thats bizarre: An American woman was left horrified when she visited her dead brother's body - and he opened his eyes.

Deborah Golson had gone to pay her last respects to brother Louis Golson's corpse after he died in his sleep.

Emergency crews had declared the 51-year-old man dead after family members found him unresponsive in his bed.

However, when Deborah went into see her sibling's body he opened his eyes, scaring her out of her wits.

Louis' niece, Kimberly Golson, said: "They told me to call the doctor, to sign the death certificate and then said they would not have to take him to the morgue, because the funeral home could come and get him straight away.

Then he woke up."

It later emerged diabetic Louis had suffered a sugar attack which had put him into a diabetic coma.

www.femalefirst.co.uk/bizarre/105762004.htm
 
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