Man declared dead feels 'pretty good'

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

OKLAHOMA CITY - Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels "pretty good."

Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.

As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.

On Monday, he and his family were in New York, appearing on NBC's "Today."

"I feel pretty good. but it's just hard ... just ain't got the patience," Dunlap told NBC.

Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash.

"I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember," he said.

Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead.

"I'm glad I couldn't get up and do what I wanted to do," he said.

Asked if he would have wanted to get up and shake them and say he's alive, Dunlap responded: "Probably would have been a broken window that went out."

His father, Doug, said he saw the results of the brain scan.

"There was no activity at all, no blood flow at all."

Zach's mother, Pam, said that when she discovered he was still alive, "That was the most miraculous feeling."

"We had gone, like I said, from the lowest possible emotion that a parent could feel to the top of the mountains again," she said.

She said her son is doing "amazingly well," but still has problems with his memory as his brain heals from the traumatic injury.

"It may take a year or more ... before he completely recovers," she said. "But that's OK. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We're just all so thankful and blessed that we have him here."

Dunlap now has the pocketknife that was scraped across his foot, causing the first reaction.

"Just makes me thankful, makes me thankful that they didn't give up," he said. "Only the good die young, so I didn't go."

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[Jack and Barbara 0]

I'm not going ATVing anytime soon

[Aymerlu 3]

he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail.

I watched this on the Today Show this morning. His relatives, I forgot a sister or brother.....they are who did these tests. Can't believe a doctor didn't do this before deciding to harvest his organs. Yeah for nurses! Then I wonder.....how the heck he was declared brain dead when he reacted to the stimulas?

Edited March 24, 2008 by Aymerlu

[sereia 0]

i watched him on 20/20 last night. amazinggggggggg story! they were about to donate his organs when he suddenly moved! what a quick recovery! a truly blessed man.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Damn, I love riding ATVs. I am most definitely not showing this story to my wife. As it is, she doesn't like me driving those things (probably because I've flipped and been tossed off them before).

[JenT 0]

How does this even happen? Talk about malpractice....

[Dan J 277]

How does this even happen? Talk about malpractice....

Its quite likely there was no malpractice.

Doctors have to make decsions based on tests and available information. The tests showed he was most likely brain dead. And the doctors made the correct decsion. But then the situation changed.

[JenT 0]

Note to self: Request that family members poke and prod me after I've died to make sure I'm really dead.

[Aymerlu 3]

How does this even happen? Talk about malpractice....

Its quite likely there was no malpractice.

Doctors have to make decsions based on tests and available information. The tests showed he was most likely brain dead. And the doctors made the correct decsion. But then the situation changed.

If your clinically brain dead and the patient reacts to painful stimulus.....there's a doctor somewhere in that hospital that is brain dead himself. My God.....we were always taught to check to see if patients react to painful stimulus. Just smells fishing to me.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Note to self: Request that family members poke and prod me after I've died to make sure I'm really dead.

we'll send almaty over to do just that.

[JenT 0]

Note to self: Request that family members poke and prod me after I've died to make sure I'm really dead.

we'll send almaty over to do just that.

Charles!

[franklie 0]

as one who did have a severe head/brain trauma at age 17 and subsequently recovered, I can tell you that it is possible that a penknife scraped across the foot or even stabbed in the foot might not elicit a response from the patient.

Depending on where in the brain the trauma is located particular regions of the body might be paralyzed.

The brain does take time to recover a year or longer because new synapses have to grow and bypass the dead area of the brain. In addition other areas of the brain have to take over the functions that the dead part of the brain previously supported.

And the brain determines the rate and the sequence of the recovery. And it's different for each patient.

The doc, in my case, used a ball point pen on the sole of the feet to try to elicit a response from me. that was after I was brought out of the induced coma which was done to reduce the swelling of the brain. Day after day he did it until finally I felt the pressure on the pen and he got a reaction from me.

Funny story: I was still in the hospital, out of the coma, out of ICU but in DOU (direct observation unit) and the medical staff had removed my catheter (I wasn't aware at the time that I had had one) because of my recovery. At that point I was aware that I was in the hospital but I did NOT know why nor did I care. I did know that I had a lot of pain in my body. Anyways, I need to urinate. Somehow I knew that there was a bathroom close by my bed. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and set them on the floor. I attempted to stand up and walk to the bathroom. The leftside which was still partially paralyzed collapsed under the weight. the right side which was all f*cked up and in a lot of pain had to support all weight. The left side being deadweight caused me to pivot to that side as I started to fall. Luckily there was a wall that intervened and I just slammed into the wall. I was able to lock my right leg sufficiently to allow me to stay head up. Using the wall to support me I inched/crab-walked my way into the bathroom. The only way I could support myself at the urinal was leaning over the urinal until my head touched the wall (my arms were useless). Once I finished my business I reversed the procedure and returned to my bed where I collapsed sweaty and exhausted. The journey to the bathroom was about 15 feet one way and took me about 15 minutes. The return journey took even longer.

After doing this for several days, I was finally caught by the nurse as I was returning to bed. She was furious and chewed me out for leaving the bed. I could have fallen and done even more damage to my brain. I tried to explain to her that I had no desire to piss myself but she told me I should have called a nurse. Several small problems with what she had said. One, I never had spent time in a hospital before. Two, when I was brought into the hospital my life expectancy/survival was in doubt. Three, I wasn't aware of what the proper protocols were for peeing after coming out of the coma. Four, noone had shown me how to page a nurse if I in fact did need it. Five, noone had told me that I couldn't get out of bed.

[mawilson 2,133]

This guy?

[mateo 0]

The only way I could support myself at the urinal was leaning over the urinal until my head touched the wall (my arms were useless).

Wow, not to make light of your story, but I have had to do the same thing many times after copious amounts of tequila!!!

m.

[Nagishkaw 510]