Recovery From Brain Stem Death

This is a living testimony that I got from a friend and the following is a narration of the event by the brother of the woman who against all medical odds was recalled to total recovery from brain stem death. Please read his firsthand report as he is also a doctor and if he claims it is a medical miracle - the divine intervention of God through persistent importunate prayers, I think I have to agree with him absolutely; it is a miracle wrought by the divine hand of God - for only the Creator has the power of life and death. It is an inspiring story to encourage us never to give up even in the dark night of hopeless despair - that there is always a way out because our God is a living reality, that when medical science fails, we always have a higher power to turn to.

As reported by Dr Alan Chin:

On the morning of Monday April 20 2009, I received a call from my brother-in-law John that my sister Suzanne had suffered a cardiac arrest and was warded in ICU in a hospital in Hong Kong. This came at the worst time possible as I was going through a time of tribulation and crisis in my own life. My wife Josie had just been appointed as the President of AWARE and when she most needed my support, I had to be away!

My mother and I flew up that very afternoon to Hong Kong. We arrived that night and headed straight to Canossa Hospital where Suzanne was warded. We met John and my brother David who had flown in earlier. John recounted what had happened that morning.

As per her usual morning routine, after sending her kids to school, she went for her morning jog with her dog. However, after around ten minutes, she decided to turn back as she was feeling tired. She had a bath and went to bed. As John noticed that she looked unwell and was slow in her speech, he called for the ambulance. Within 10-15 minutes she was on her way to hospital, still conscious.

Unfortunately on arrival at 8:38am, she lapsed into unconsciousness with an un-recordable blood pressure. The doctors commenced resuscitation which lasted about 2 hours. ECG on admission showed narrow complex bradycardia. Intra venous adrenaline was administered and she developed a ventricular tachycardia. She was defibrillated which resulted in sinus rhythm. She was intubated and started on IV dopamine and adrenaline.

She was transferred to ICU after she had been stabilised.

MRI of Brain showed:
- Tiny T2W dark signal in Right cerebellar hemisphere, likely a non-specific focus due to a tiny calcification or tiny focus of old No other intracranial abnormality.
- Trace fluid signal in posterior wall of NP.
ECG immediate post resuscitation on 20.4.2009 – SR, ST depression in praecordial leads
CXR report:
- Interstitial lung markings, right lung pleural fluid, slightly more confluent shadowing RUZ, but may have some pneumonic changes.
In ICU, she developed diabetes insipidus – marked urine output (serum osmolarity 325 urine osmolarity 129) responded to DDAVP.

When I saw Suzanne in ICU, she did not look good. She was on a ventilator; her pupils were 4mm fixed and dilated. Her limbs were flaccid. The respiratory physician advised that the prognosis was very poor with evidence of brain stem death (BSD) and pituitary gland failure. The room temperature in ICU was kept low to slow down the metabolic processes.
I spent the night in hospital praying and interceding. I proclaimed Psalm 118:17 over Suzanne that she shall not die but live to declare the works of the Lord.

An echocardiogram done the next morning on Tuesday April 21 2009 by the cardiologist, Dr. David Ho showed:

- Moderate Aortic
Regurgitation with global left ventricular dysfunction and moderate to severe global hypokinesia.
- Cardiac valves showed no abnormal thickening.
- Tri-leaflet aortic valve
- LVES 4.89cm LVED 5.35cm
- EF 19% by M mode
- LA 2.72cm

Dr Ho suggested a diagnosis of acute aortic valve prolapse leading to cardiac arrest.

That afternoon, her condition remained unchanged. The temperature in the ICU was now turned up in a not-too-subtle hint that the doctors had given up.

The respiratory physician again advised that there was no improvement and confirmed that Suzanne had brain stem death (BSD). It is a term equated with death to describe a person on life-support system when faced with a decision whether or not to switch off the ventilator or to harvest organs for organ transplant. She advised John to consider switching off the ventilator as Suzanne was now dead and there was no hope of recovery. She added in medical history there were no cases of anybody recovering from BSD.

I contacted my friends in Singapore to pray for Suzanne.

We requested for a second opinion from a neurologist who examined her that afternoon. Her pupils were fixed and dilated. Vestibulo-ocular reflex was negative. She had a negative gag and cough reflex. There was no pain reflex in response to deep pressure over sternum, fingers, and eyebrow. She was flaccid, a-reflexic and there was no plantar response. His diagnosis was also that of brain stem death (BSD).

That evening, Suzanne looked dead. She was cold and clammy; facial discolouration had set in, especially under her eyes. There was also a smell of death about her. That evening, her children, Kim and Ian saw her for the first time after her collapse. The whole family was distraught. Everyone was grieving for Suzanne.

Later that night, I called Josie to update her on Suzanne’s condition. She spoke to John and prayed with him. She received the word “resurrection” and told John that God is our Healer and that He would resurrect all her brain cells.

Even as I prayed that night, I asked Father God where was Suzanne? He answered that she was with Him. I then asked whether she would be coming back. He said yes! I asked when but there was no answer. I then asked for a sign by Wednesday as I had scheduled to return to Singapore that afternoon. Comforted I went to sleep early that night.

Things started to turn around on Wednesday. Early that morning, the nurses noticed slight movement as they were sucking phlegm from her intubation tube. John excitedly called from hospital that early morning saying Suzanne had opened her eyes for the briefest moment several times!

We hurried down to the hospital. As we called her name there was response with twitching of her lips and movement of her eyebrows. She opened her eyes several times! We were all greatly encouraged.

Suzanne was then reassessed by the neurologist. When he called her name, there was no response. When he asked her to move her arm, again there was no response. However, when I called out her name, she opened her eyes. She also moved her fingers when I asked her to move her hand. Her pupils were still fixed and dilated with a negative doll’s eye reflex. There was grimacing of her face in response to deep pressure for pain over her fingers and sternum.

Strangely the neurologist still advised John that these signs were just autonomic responses. She also warned John not to raise false hopes of recovery as Suzanne had BSD!

At around noon, the respiratory physician noted there were further signs of recovery. Suzanne had started triggering the ventilator to breathe, about 5-10% of the breaths. By the time I left the hospital for the airport at about 1:30pm, she was initiating 100% of her breathing.

By that evening, there was movement of all her four limbs; with increasing episodes of eye movements. Her pupils were no longer fixed and dilated and she had regained her pupillary reflexes.

However she developed a fever. Her total white blood count was 34,500. Chest X-Ray showed lobar pneumonia, with bilateral infiltrates indicative of adult respiratory distress syndrome. Remarkably all these settled down within 24 hours.

On Thursday April 23, while being reassessed by her neurologist, John asked Suzanne to nod her head if she understood him. She did so. He then asked her to nod her head twice as the doctor was sceptical. Again she did so. By Friday April 24, Suzanne was fully conscious and able to recognise all who visited her.

Echo of heart: Ejection
Fraction had improved from 19% to 43%. (Her EF was back to normal by Monday 27 April).

Suzanne was extubated on Saturday April 25. She was able to talk shortly after that. Neurological examination revealed full and total recovery with no neurological deficits. I spoke to her that afternoon over the phone just before I testified in church of God’s power and amazing grace in bringing her back from the dead.

On Sunday April 26 morning, Suzanne was up and about and was able to shower herself. She even asked John to bring her facial wash and moisturiser.

She was discharged the following Tuesday.

As I shared her amazing testimony in Church Of Our Saviour again, on Sunday April 26 morning, a reporter from ‘The Newspaper’ was also present. Intending to hear Pastor Derek's sermon, she had no choice but to sit through my sharing of this miracle. It was then reported on the Monday April 27 edition of The Newspaper’s front page!

Up till today doctors are not able to ascertain what happened to Suzanne as all the tests have been negative. She is fully recovered and coming back to Singapore permanently this end June 2009 after spending 15 years in Hong Kong.

Suzanne remembers that while she was in coma, she dreamt that she was pinned down on the floor of an apartment she had earlier visited in Pandan Valley Singapore. She tried to get up but someone (she described it as an evil presence) prevented her from doing so.

She has been touched and changed by her experience and walking closer to God.

I hope that Suzanne’s miraculous resurrection will be a source of comfort, strength and encouragement of the reality of God’s amazing grace, mercy and goodness.

Revelation 19:10b states: “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Let him or her who needs a miracle from God, claim one.”
Dr Alan Chin