A 20-year-old Michigan man who displayed no vital signs for 20 minutes was miraculously brought back to life by doctors.
Michael Pruitt was carrying a metal ladder that touched a live electrical wire, and that is about all he remembers before he awoke in hospital, he told Fox 2.
“I remember being electrocuted while holding that ladder and shaking, and then nothing,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt was at a house in Livonia doing construction work with his father in April, 7 Action News reported. Luckily the owner of the house knew how to do CPR and then called 911.
Firefighters arrived and also did CPR and used a defibrillator. He was then taken to an emergency room. Upon his arrival he had no signs of life.
“They brought in this perfect young man who had no vital signs. I said to my team, ‘We’re bringing him back.’ And then, I said to him, ‘You better come back!'” Dr. Angel Chudler told Fox 2.
Chudler and her team continued to shock Pruitt’s heart with a defibrillator. Eventually, Pruitt’s heartbeat came back.
The moment when Pruitt came back to life was intense.
“When he became conscious again, he was like the Hulk, grabbing the railings and shaking the bed with huge strength. It took the entire care team to hold Michael,” Beaumont Hospital clinical nurse Yasmeen Bachir told Fox 2.
The scene shocked medical personnel.
“In less than five minutes, brain cells start to die from lack of oxygen. Michael’s resuscitation is miraculous. He did not lose any brain function. It’s a testament to the importance of immediate and continuous CPR to move oxygenated blood to the brain,” said Barbara Smith, director of Trauma Services at Beaumont Hospital, Farmington Hills.
The electricity exited Pruitt’s body from his toes at the time of the electric shock. His toes are now bandaged.
His mother works in the same hospital.
“My first-born had returned from the dead!” Jillian Pruitt told Fox 2.
Pruitt updated his Facebook profile photo with a photo of him with a chest tattoo. According to Fox 2, he got the tattoo as a symbol of his survival after the accident.
Photos obtained by WDIV show Pruitt hugging his mother in the hospital, and showing off his bandaged toes.
Pruitt jokes about the situation now.
“When my folks ask me to take out the garbage now, I’ve been trying to use my painful big toes as an excuse not to do it,” Pruitt told WDIV. “When people ask if my hair spikes naturally, now I tell them it’s because I was electrocuted.”
“It doesn’t matter what you think should happen at that point. You just are going to do everything you can,” says Dr. Angel Chudler of @BeaumontHealth Farmington Hills. She’s one of the physicians who brought a 20-year-old back to life, after 20 minutes without a heart beat. pic.twitter.com/x0DFenvL7F
— Jenn Schanz (@JennSchanzWXYZ) June 24, 2019
The extent of danger due to an electric shock depends on many factors. The nature of the current makes a difference, as does the voltage level. The person’s health and how quickly they are treated also matter, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The clinic recommends calling 911 if the person experiences severe burns, confusion, breathing problems, heart rhythm issues, cardiac arrest, muscle pain and contractions, seizures, or loss of consciousness.
