By Dave Andrusko
Four years ago four doctors declared Steven Thorpe, then 17, brain-dead, following a horrific accident that left one man dead and Thorpe in a medically-induced coma. Doctors at University Hospital in Coventry England “told his family he would never recover and asked them to consider donating his organs before his life-support machine was turned off,” according to the Telegraph. His parents begged for a second opinion, won out over a reluctant staff, and seven weeks later Steven was discharged from hospital having made a near-full recovery!
For the first time, Steven, now a 21-year-old trainee accountant, has spoken of his progress and paid tribute to his family and Julia Piper, the General Practitioner who saved him.
His story is taken straight from the annuals of the “Perils of Pauline.”
After the crash, surgeons performed a craniotomy to help alleviate any swelling on his brain. Although a success, doctors detected no electrical impulses. They declared him brain-dead.
Steven told the Telegraph that
“My father believed I was still there. He expressed his views to Julia Piper and I think she listened very closely to what my dad had said. My impression is maybe the hospital weren’t very happy that my father wanted a second opinion. I think the doctors wanted to give me three days on the life support machine and the following day they said they wanted to turn it off. The words they used to my parents were ‘you need to start thinking about organ donations’. I think that’s what gave my dad energy, he thought ‘no way’. I think if my dad would’ve agreed with them then it would’ve been off in seconds. If my parents hadn’t asked for the second opinion, and if Julia hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here today.”
But his father refused to give up and approached Dr. Piper.
“The hospital finally agreed to bring the teenager out of his coma to see if he could survive on his own,” the Telegraph reported. “Dr Piper, who runs a private practice in Leicester, said: ‘They had doctors saying he wasn’t going to live but the parents felt there was flickers of response and it wasn’t just wishful thinking. I had this strong feeling that this wasn’t right and then eventually I got someone else to look at him and of course it proved to have been the right thing to have done.”
She found faint brain waves, indicating some chance of recovery. Incredibly, Thorpe not only survived but has since made an astounding recovery.
Thorpe has undergone four surgeries to reconstruct his face and his arm is still in a sling. He is grateful to be alive.
“I don’t think my outlook’s changed. I’m a very driven person. I’m living to succeed in life,” he told the BBC. “Hopefully (my experience) can help people see that you should never give up. My father believed I was alive — and he was correct.”
Your feedback is very important to improving National Right to Life News Today. Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha
