A photo from open sources
In early 1974, many telegraph agencies reported extraordinary incident with 5-year-old boy Vegard Slettemuen from the city of Lillestrom (Norway). Playing, he went on the ice of the river failed and drowned. Only after 40 minutes scuba divers took out the child’s body from the water.
And after 20 minutes, when the doctors, almost not hoping for success, began to do artificial respiration and open heart massage, baby signs of life appeared. For two days Vegard was without consciousness, and then opened his eyes and asked: “Where are my glasses?” Nearly sentinel state of clinical death did not cause him disturbances brain activity.
This unique fact in the history of medicine caused among specialists a real sensation, because it was believed that the term stay drowned under water, after which almost revival is possible, fluctuates within 6-12 minutes. Even occasionally and it was possible after this period to return a person to life, he received irreversible brain damage.
What is the matter, how to explain this phenomenon? Head physician Akerschnius Central Hospital Björn Lind, commenting on this fantastic revival suggested that the boy sharp hypothermia (lowering the temperature) – water into which he hit, did not exceed +3 ° C.
Subcooling reduces the body’s need for oxygen, in resulting in irreversible brain damage occur much later. However, such a hypothesis did not satisfy medical specialists, as far from fully explaining the miraculous Vegard’s return to life. They continued the search for truth, and finally the mystery of the mysterious revival was uncovered.
Diving reflex
In March 1975, 18-year-old American Brian Cunningham together with his car fell through the ice. For almost 38 minutes he was under water, but nevertheless, thanks to the many hours of efforts of doctors, fighting for the life of a young man, was saved. This unusual incident became interested in scientist Martin Nemiro from the University of Michigan (USA). He managed to establish that a drowned person was in danger For a long time under water, two factors help return from non-existence: diving reflex and moderately cold water, the temperature of which below +21 ° C.
Dr. Martin Nemiro explains this as follows. Reflex breath holding when immersed in cold water causes a slow heart activity in a person, otherwise saying bradycardia. It happens automatically, because it also called a diving reflex. While remaining saturated blood stops supplying oxygen to chilled skin tissues, skeletal muscles and other organs capable of harming themselves without harm long time to endure a “hungry ration”.
It all rushes to the vital centers of man – brain and heart. The cells of the latter do not die within a few tens of minutes!
A photo from open sources
The full adaptive value of the diving reflex manifested in diving marine mammals. Seals, for example, heart rate when swimming underwater is only 20% of the original. Thanks to this animal, possessing about the same amount of oxygen in the body as a person can stay under water for 10-15 minutes.
The discovery made by an American scientist radically changed the approach emergency care for people drowned in cold water. AND indeed, recently it has helped doctors save the inevitable, it would seem, death of other “hopeless” affected.
A frosty February afternoon in 1984, sledding down frozen Lake Michigan, 4-year-old Jimmy fell through the ice. Terrence Totlevich, the father of the boy, rushed into the icy water, but found son could not. The boy managed to be pulled out only in half an hour. He had no breathing, his heartbeat was not recorded. However, Jimmy survived!
Doctors from the Chicago Children’s Hospital who saved the child, commenting on this incident on the pages of the American magazine United States News of World Report, “said to bring the baby back to life they were helped, first of all, by the recently discovered diving reflex and cold. “These two factors,” concludes the Cleveland professor. Carold Rickeyt – contributed to the rescue of the boy at first stage. ”
It is interesting to note that, according to the Philadelphia physician Michael Devinson, the phenomenon of bradycardia, which along the evolutionary chain was transmitted by diving mammals to humans, especially strongly saved in children.
Jimmy stayed in the hospital for three months.
“And after discharge,” said the boy’s mother, Katie Totlevich, “ he had to learn everything from the very beginning: to speak, walk and even there is.
But now, according to U.S. magazine The States News of World Report, published in early 1985, everything is fine: Jimmy was in his sixth year, he went to kindergarten and visited the swimming section.
Misty Dolphin
An even more incredible case of saving a drowned man occurred in the end of 1983 (“Domenica del Coriere”, Italy).
Three-year-old Misty Densmore was on a fishing boat, which crashed. Her uncle died, her mother held out on the water, while she was saved, and little Misty went to the bottom of Alaska Bay, where was without breathing for more than 30 minutes. Nevertheless she remained is alive! The girl’s mother, Andy Densmore, did not find any explanation. and just noted that this is a “miracle.”
– When a huge wave flooded the ship and blew us into the sea, – said the mother, – I grabbed my hand over the side of a boat, and the other pressed her daughter to her, trying to hold her higher, above water. But a new wave pulled the baby out of my hands. I saw how Misty opened her mouth wide and inhaled a large portion of air.
To the place of the accident that happened near the coast of the island of Kodiak (Alaska), rescuers arrived by helicopter. To the doctor providing help the girl, managed to bring her back to life long mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration. Opening her eyes baby asked: “Where is my mother? What happened?” After happy revitalizing the girl on the island began to call “dolphin”.
As Martin Nemiro later explained this phenomenal case, the girl was also saved by a diving reflex. However, in the future this beautiful and seemingly solid from all sides the hypothesis has not been confirmed.
The thing is that pathological processes occurring in when drowning, differ from those that occur in time of voluntary diving with holding the breath under water. Why then drowning in cold water is accompanied by a greater survival after resuscitation, even after prolonged stay under water?
Scientists concluded: such a result is due to the rapid body cooling and a concomitant decrease in metabolic processes in an unconscious person. For description researchers Cohn and Barker proposed the term “Syndrome of acute subimmersion hypothermia.” If cooling is the main reason for the increased survival of those rescued after drowning in cold water, it can be assumed that smaller body size the child contributes to faster cooling of the body and longer survival time than an adult in the same conditions.
One and a half hours of clinical death
In conclusion, here’s a stunning case of an incredibly long stay of a person in a state of clinical death. March 21, 1996 32-year-old car dealer Ward Krenz from Clear Aake, state Iowa) rode with friends on snowmobiles on the ice of a frozen lake. Suddenly a strong snowstorm began. In search of shelter, people turned back, but Ward lost sight of his comrades, lost his way, and his car was in the ice.
“At the speed at which I raced,” he later told participant in an incredible adventure, – I flew into a wormwood of meters on twenty from her edge. I just managed to see how the headlights of a snowmobile disappeared under water, and then everything steeply plunged into absolute the darkness. The water was incredibly cold. I have muscles right there petrified, and I could not swim. I thought: “No, I will not die, I have everything life is ahead. “But the water was icy, I was completely numb and could not move. Soon everything suddenly seemed calm and quiet, and then I went under water. ”
Members of the volunteer squad arriving at the scene for 45 minutes they tried to find the missing Ward Krenz, lighting up make your way with flashlights. Finally they saw some black in the water subject. It turned out to be a shockproof helmet, worn on Ward’s head. The body of the drowned man was underwater in an upright position. Mouth, the nose and the whole face were under water, and only the air gathered inside helmet, did not allow him to plunge into the depths.
A photo from open sources
By the time rescuers removed Krenz from the ice font, he stayed under water for about 1 hour 10 minutes.
“When he was taken to our hospital,” said the doctor Dorothy Loz – he had no breathing and no heartbeat, and the temperature body dropped to 24 °, ‘and we hardly hoped to save him. The victim was connected to the car, which is usually used for heart surgery: his blood warmed up to the necessary temperature and returned to tissues already saturated with oxygen. Ward was in a state of clinical death for a total of 1 hour 30 minutes until the heart begins to beat again. ”
After that, for another three days he did not regain consciousness, and doctors began to think that because of a long stay without oxygen is affected by the brain. However, everything went well it’s better. Ward Krenz left hospital completely after 13 days healthy.
“Due to a very rapid drop in body temperature, metabolism completely stopped, ”comments Dr. Loz. – In such his brain didn’t need oxygen, it was as if turned off for a while”.
The victim himself said: “I am so happy! everyone managed to visit the other world and come back … ”
Water Time Life Islands
