During our lifetime, we may face certain situations that seem impossible to overcome, so we find ourselves trapped in our personal inability to fight against the odds. But although life is full of unexpected things, we should always remember that it’s hard to beat a person who never gives up, like this brave doctor who did his best to make his patient “come back from the death.”
When the young man was brought to the hospital, he didn’t have pulse and the staff even contacted the coroner, but this particular doctor refused to believe that the young life was lost. What he did changed the way patients like this guy should be treated in the future and raised the question of whether sometimes doctors give up too early when things seem to be “lost.”
25-year-old Justin Smith was walking home that cold February night when he collapsed and his body froze. The paramedics assumed he spent around 12 hours laying there on the side of the road in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
Upon seeing the situation he was brought in, they knew he was beyond saving. Justin’s father Don who spent hours looking for his son was devastated by what doctors told him. He wasn’t ready to lose his son and refused to believe there was nothing to be done.
Justin was then rushed to the Lehigh Valley Hospital where everyone expected from the doctors to declare him dead. But then, all of a sudden, Dr. Gerald stepped in and told the rest of the doctors and Don that he wasn’t willing to give up on Justin just yet. This surprised everyone around who believed that resuscitating someone whose body was frozen and had no pulse nor showed any signs of life was not a logical decision.
Despite the odds, Dr. Gerald performed a risky operation on the patient. Before he was taken to the operation room, Don kissed his son on the forehead and said, “I love you!”
Surprisingly, this operation was the right thing to do. Justin’s body warmed up and his heart started beating again.
It took this young man 12 days to open his eyes and realize what he had gone through.
What this doctor did is beyond believable. Unlike his colleagues, he never lost hope. Many believe that he did what he did because he experienced the loss of a child himself and that affected the way he was perceiving things.
His baby was born prematurely and only lived for several weeks. Maybe his father’s instinct didn’t let him allow another father to experience the pain he did.
Justin is now aware that he was given a second change that he should grab and hold firmly. He lost his toes, but never lost the wish to live his new life to the fullest.