Here on the Infographics Show, we’ve already
discussed the many beliefs of what happens when you die. We also mentioned that some 18 percent of
the United States population might be proof the spirit lives on when they are revived
after dying from a heart-attack. But, how exactly can this happen, and why? And, since they’ve died and then returned,
perhaps they could describe what the afterlife, if it exists, is like. Let’s find out on this episode of the Infographics
Show, Man Dead for 45 Minutes Comes Back to Life. Tony Yahle went to bed on August 4th of 2013
as he did on most nights without a sense that anything was wrong. His wife, Melissa, slept soundly by his side
until she got up at 4am the next morning. This is when she noticed something serious. Anthony was breathing strangely and, alarmed,
she tried to wake him. He was unable to regain consciousness. A nurse, Melissa performed CPR on her husband
with her son’s assistance. In a panic, the family called 911. Those who first entered the residence discovered
a heartbeat only after they had shocked Tony multiple times. He was then rushed by ambulance to a hospital
where doctors desperately tryed to save Tony’s life searched for the source of his problems. However, what they suspected it was, a blockage
of his arteries, was not the case. They were confused. They searched further, but as far as the medical
professionals could tell, there was nothing that could explain what was happening. Hours passed and he appeared to stabilize. Then, that afternoon, things took a drastic
turn for the worse. Tony’s condition rapidly deteriorated and
once again became life-threatening, or in technical terms, he coded. The doctors worked through emergency life-saving
procedures but after they had tried all that they could for 45 minutes, without signs of
life, doctors finally gave up. Tony had completely flatlined and was not
breathing. He didn’t have any blood pressure or a heartbeat. His body showed absolutely no electrical activity. Time of death was given. Minutes passed. As his daughter Kristen would say, she was
simply overwhelmed with the news of her father’s death and felt a part of her heart had been
ripped out. Anthony’s 17-year-old son, Lawrence, couldn’t
believe what the doctors were telling him. He entered the room with his pastor by his
side and started talking to his father on the bed. Looking at Tony, motionless in a hospital
gown with tubes entering and exiting his body, Lawrence refused to give up hope. He told him as he pointed at his father, “Dad,
you’re not going to die today.” Shortly after, it was the pastor who noticed
a heartbeat. According to Dr. Raja Nazir, a hospital cardiologist,
it was far from a normal signal. Instead it was just the smallest of electrical
activity that appeared once or twice each minute. It was the last thing he expected, but all
he needed to try once more to save Tony’s life. He squeezed a medical bag to elevate blood
pressure and worked along with the others on resuscitation measures one more time. Slowly but surely the heart rate grew stronger
and more predictable. In time it was clear that despite all odds
Tony would live. The doctors at the Kettering Medical Center
who had treated Tony could not easily explain what had happened. They had never witnessed someone come back
from the dead after they had flatlined and emergency procedures has stopped for five
to seven minutes. However, Michael Sayre, a professor specializing
in emergency medicine in Seattle, Washington had an idea of what happened based on precedent. Sayre explained that the emergency procedures
carried out by the Kettering doctors manually forced oxygen around Tony’s body and kept
his brain from dying. Beyond this, cooling him may have also helped
prevent damage to the tissue of his brain. If a brain is cool it can last a surprisingly
long time without fresh oxygen. In fact, during surgery circulating blood
may be cut off from the brain for more than seven minutes. Sayre says that no one truly knows why it’s
possible to do this with no negative effects, but it is. In other words, because of the doctors’
efforts and by keeping him cool, Tony’s brain was protected which gave him a chance
to make a comeback. .
However, it has also happened before that while attempting to resuscitate patients that
air gets stuck within their bodies. This causes pressure to mount in the lungs
and disrupts blood flowing on to the heart. In these cases, disconnecting the breathing
tube bag and pushing the chest dislodges this air and once again allows blood to properly
circulate. This can effectively revive a person. This may have revived Tony. What his and other similar cases seem to suggest
is that resuscitation efforts, which traditionally last from 20 to 25 minutes, may need to be
relooked at. A 2012 study has shown that when hospital
staff puts in more time trying to save their patients that a higher percentage survive. People like Tony are living proof that trying
to resuscitate patients more than once and over extended periods of time saves lives. But this is far from where the miracle of
the case of Tony Yahle ends. Though his doctors were thrilled that he survived,
they warned his family that more likely than not he would be a changed man after so much
time without oxygen. They believed that he would likely show signs
of significant damage to both his heart and brain. In other words, they feared that he would
become a human vegetable. However, the 37-year-old diesel mechanic is
just as mentally alert today as he ever was. While he now has a pacemaker and a defibrillator,
his heart has been ruled healthy and without any damage. This is yet another miracle in addition to
the previous one of his regaining life. On top of that, despite the whole ordeal he
had no broken ribs and wasn’t even sore from CPR or shock treatments. As his wife would know, this is something
that almost never happens under these circumstances. It may also be a blessing of a kind that he
remembers nothing beyond going to bed on August 4th. He was unaware completely that he had a medical
emergency or that he had died and come back to the land of the living. That is, until his family and doctors convinced
him it happened. Although for the rest of us, who wanted to
know what he could have experienced in that time, it is only natural that we are a bit
disappointed. Tony credits his survival to God. His son and pastor had started to pray really
hard right before his monitors were unplugged. It was after their prayer along with his son’s
demands that he would not die that he first showed some signs of life. However, as we described before, those who
specialize in emergency medicine have a scientific explanation or theory for what happened. As Tony can’t remember, we’re no closer
to knowing if he experienced life after death for a short while or if changes in electrical
signals and oxygen were followed by an absence of anything. Maybe it’s better that we don’t know for
certain. What do you think? Let us know in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
called Man Who Got Hit With an Iron Rod Through His Head! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
