Man Recovering Well After Being Declared Brain Dead
Four months ago – Zach Dunlap was laying in a hospital were doctors had declared him as brain dead and were going to remove his organs for transplant after he was injured in a car crash. His family was told by doctors that there was no hope for him and as they were saying their goodbyes a miracle happened – he moved his hand and foot.
He reacted to a knife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to go home, where he is recovering. Dunlap yesterday went on US TV to talk about his experiences, and said he remembers hearing doctors pronounce him dead.
“I’m glad I couldn’t get up and do what I wanted to do,” he joked. 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.” He said he felt good considering his ordeal, but expressed frustration with his recovery. “I feel pretty good. But it’s just hard … just ain’t got the patience.” The 21-year-old 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.
His father, Doug, said he saw the results of his son’s brain scan after the accident. “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 was doing “amazingly well,” but still has problems with his memory as his brain healed 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 said he had kept the pocketknife that sparked his reaction as a souvenir. “(It) 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.”