A man who was believed to be dead after being found “frozen” in the snow for 12 hours has thanked medics who worked against all odds to save him.
Justin Smith was found unconscious on the side of the road on his way home after drinking with friends in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, in February last year.
He spent nearly 12 hours in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The next morning, his father, Don Smith, found his only son lying on his back with his eyes open, not breathing, blue and without a pulse.
“I called his mother and told her, ‘Justin’s dead,'” he said.
A newly healthy Justin Smith greets the media. Photo: AP
But at a press conference held on Monday to announce details of Smith’s remarkable recovery, Dr. Gerald Coleman described how Smith refused to give up and instructed paramedics who arrived on the scene during what was meant to be a body recovery training exercise to begin CPR.
Dr. Coleman said, “Our hearts should be in charge, not our minds, because if our hearts are in charge, we’re likely to run into some problems.”
“I just ignored it and said, ‘Nah, not today.'”
CPR continued for two hours.
Smith was flown to a larger hospital and placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine to keep his blood warm and circulating.
Justin Smith thanked the doctors and medical staff who saved his life when they thought he was already dead. Photo: AP
Smith’s heart began beating naturally, and a month later he opened his eyes and showed signs of recovery, following the faces of people walking around his hospital room.
“It felt like I woke up from a dream, but it wasn’t a dream,” the now 26-year-old said.
Doctors who treated him said that extremely low temperatures can keep the brain and other organs functioning even when the person is not breathing.
Justin Smith recovered from the ordeal with surprisingly few scars. Photo: Provided
But they remain astonished that the only serious injury Smith suffered was the amputation of an index limb due to gangrene.
“When you look at the science of what happened to Justin, it’s really hard to imagine anyone on Earth surviving this,” Dr. John Castaldo said.
Dr Coleman added: “It’s the highly unusual cases like Justin’s that advance medical science and may mark a paradigm shift in how we resuscitate patients with hypothermia.”
“Justin’s body temperature is one of the lowest ever recorded in a human being surviving in North America.”