The Boy Who
Was Brought Back
from the Dead
by the doctor who saved him
..' .... V V f
X IV. A:
.N
I
Larry Hillman is a happy, normal boy onca again.
This is the first-person account of the most spec
tacular medical event of the year, told by the doc
tor who lived it. Because of ethical considerations,
the doctor has requested that his name be with
held. The story has been approved by the Fairfield
County (Conn.) Medical ' Society, and the facts
herein are identical with the case history that will
be reported to the Medical Journal.
When they carried three-year-old Larry
Hillman into the hospital emergency room ,
at 11:46 a.m. last March 16, the youngster was
apparently dead. There was no heart beat, no
pulse, no respiration. The pupils of the boy's eyes
were widely dilated, and his body was extremely
cold. Medically and legally, the diagnosis of death
seemed indisputable.
Almost half an hour earlier, Larry had fallen
into a deep pond near his home in Trumbull, Conn.
Despite heroic efforts by two neighbors who pulled
him to shore, it was apparent that the boy had
drowned. At 11:40 a.m., a,publicrhealth nurse pro
nounced Larry dead.
Under normal conditions, eight minutes of com
plete loss of oxygen will cause irreparable damage
to the brain or death. The longest interval of heart
stoppage ever recorded where the patient recovered
fully, has been six-and-a-half minutes. Never
theless, at 11:57 a.m. 17 minutes after the nurse's
pronouncement and possibly 38 minutes after the
boy was found face-down in the pond Larry's
heart was beating again.
How did this happen? Why did it happen?
The more emotional might label this as a miracle.
Others might regard it as a medical fluke. It was
neither, but a miraculous chain of circumstances
played a part in Larry's victory over death.
Before the boy even reached our hospital, cer
tain factors set the stage for the drama that fol
lowed. The 32-degree temperature of the pond, for
instance, was a most important contribution to the
success of our desperate gamble. So was the cease
less application of artificial respiration futile
though it seemed throughout the five-mile dash
by ambulance to Bridgeport and St. Vincent's Hos
pital. And not to be minimized was the phone call
of an alert bystander, alerting hospital personnel.
When the ambulance reached the hospital all
was in readiness and events moved swiftly. An
anesthesiologist inserted an endotracheal tube into
the boy's windpipe and breathed into the boy's
lungs until an oxygen pump could be put into
operation. There was no response. One cc of adren
alin was injected into the heart. Still no response.
There was one desperate measure left. A call
went out for the hospital's surgeon. Luckily, I was
across the hall from the emergency room.
The decision was made to attempt to stimulate
the heart by hand massage. Within seconds, an in
cision was made on the left side of the boy's chest.
The heart was deadly still.
At 11:55 a.m., I began the massage. After two
minutes of steady manual manipulation, the tiny
organ in my hand suddenly responded, and its first
beat revei'berated in my own heart. Initially there
were isolated contractions; then, at 12:02 p.m., the
heart began a slow rhythm and a palpable pulse
was established. Within three minutes the heart
beat was normal. Then the incision was closed.
It had been an hour almost to the minute since
little Larry had drowned. With his heart pumping
faithfully again, we might have felt elated; but it
was but a brief moment of triumph. Now, for the
first time, we were told the boy had been dead 17
minutes before the heart massage succeeded. That
was too long; it meant serious brain damage.
Then, suddenly, our hopes brightened again
when we checked the boy's temperature. After 30
minutes of warming him with hot water bottles,
the thermometer registered 80.5 degrees F. Now
we realized the icy waters might have given Larry
some protection by reducing his body temperature
at the time his oxygen supply was cut off.
The deliberate pre-cooling of the body to pro
tect the bi-ain against permanent damage during
heart surgery is one of the newest tools in medi
cine. Using this hypothermia method, the tempera
ture is reduced to 80 degrees F. and the arteries
carrying oxygen to the brain are clamped off for at
least 15 minutes during surgery.
In order to determine possible brain damage, we
had to warm the boy's body slowly. We received
our answer promptly. His temperature suddenly
shot up to 106 degrees F. Combined with convul
sions and general twitching of the extremities, this
indicated serious brain damage.
Our problem was complicated by detection of a
complete heart block and pneumonia, although the
latter was combated with antibiotics and oxygen.
Hoping to reverse the brain and heart damage,
we packed Larry in ice and brought his tempera
ture down again. Later we used a refrigerated
blanket to maintain better control, raising and low
ering temperature to fit his condition.
On the second day, a general spasm seemed to
indicate our efforts were failing, but within 24
hours this condition improved and normal reflexes
returned. On the third day, Larry began taking
fluids by mouth and was able to suck on a lolli
pop. At one point during my examination, he
opened his eyes and said: "I wanna go home."
For the moment I could only beam silently. ,
Larry's courageous parents got their reward next
day, when the youngster greeted them with: "Will
you take me for a ride in the car, Daddy?"
In the days that followed, recuperation was
steady. Larry easily identified his toys, solved old
and new puzzles, remembered people and events.
The brain damage had been completely reversed.
After 16 days in the hospital, Larry finally got
his ride back home. He has returned to his nor
mal, vigorous life. He has no problems.
Larry's dramatic recovery a tribute to the re
markable achievements of medical research
underscores the need for disseminating new tech
niques and knowledge for the benefit of people
everywhere. His case should be viewed not only in
the emotional terms of a little boy brought back
from the dead, but also as an inspiration that will
save other lives in the future.
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