Recovery from Extreme Hypothermia - Wow

The short version: man found in snowbank. Paramedics find him blue, no heartbeat, no blood pressure, and call in the coroner. ER physician told them "start CPR anyway." And he survived!

http://news.nationalpost.com/health/bein...save-others-too

It's a reminder that the old saw that "nobody is cold and dead until they are warm and dead" really does hold true.

Wow! Great save!

... and on the lighter side ... A family saves a snow-bound piglet from freezing to death

I read a few articles about this one. One of the key moments came when a doctor had a potassium test performed, and saw that they were normal, indicating that heart function might be able to resume. What I read was that his body was frozen at just the "right" rate for it to survive, but it isn't clear why his brain wasn't severely damaged.

The standard of care for hypothermia has come a long way for first responders but is still uneven in the hospital setting. Hopefully this continues to improve.

Our bodies recover and withstand the cold far better than the heat!