77 year old woman revived after being dead for 3 hours. Talks about remarkable life-after-death experiences

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Newsday Feb 11, 2002

DEAD

Life After Death Pronounced dead; she isn't

By Melanie Lefkowitz Frances Foster was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m.

But three hours later, she came back to life.

And last night, as the Brooklyn woman remained in critical condition at New York Methodist Hospital, two emergency medical technicians were placed on modified duty while officials investigate whether they witnessed a miracle or made a mistake.

The EMTs, one of whom has 16 years' experience on the job, pronounced the 77-year-old woman dead in her apartment Saturday afternoon, police said. A source said the fact that she was extremely cold to the touch and that her seventh-floor apartment had a strong odor made it seem unlikely that she could be alive.

When a coroner from the medical examiner's office arrived at 5:35 p.m., however, he found Foster to have a faint pulse, and she was rushed to Methodist's emergency room.

"The M.E. came in and lifted the body and it caused a spontaneous heartbeat," the source said.

Foster's next-door neighbor reported her missing Saturday afternoon, police said. She hadn't been seen in a while, police said, though it was not clear yesterday how long it had been since she last left her apartment.

When police arrived, they found the woman's body and called an ambulance. The EMTs arrived in less than two minutes and pronounced her dead. A source said police at the scene, also believing she was dead, called for a supervisor.

Mike Prendergast, a Fire Department spokesman, said the two EMTs will be placed on modified duty pending an internal and external review by the state Health Department. They will not be permitted to treat patients, he said.

Foster was in critical condition in the intensive care unit as of last night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

-- (lars@indy.net), February 11, 2002

Answers

Oh, I lied about the "remarkable" experiences.

-- (lars@indy.net), February 11, 2002.

"the fact that she was extremely cold to the touch and that her seventh-floor apartment had a strong odor made it seem unlikely that she could be alive."

LOL! I've smelled some pretty wicked farts, but unless there was poison it's not likely an odor would could kill someone.

-- (what@the.fudge?), February 11, 2002.


Fudge, death is messy. When a person dies, all the sphincter muscles relax and any fecal matter, urine or vomit comes out. It is quite stinky, and not at all the sanitized version seen on tv.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), February 11, 2002.

Thanks Tricia, I'm aware of that. The problem is that none of that actually happened because she never really died. It seems that the EMT's caught a whiff of some of her kitchen trash or something and assumed she was dead. They should be fired.

-- (what@the.fudge), February 11, 2002.

Fudge, she may have been dead. The article said her heart restarted when the examiner moved her. Or, it could be that the EMT's were incompetent. I'll await the review.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), February 11, 2002.


She wasn't dead before, but she is now.

-- (what@i.think), February 12, 2002.

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