She completely froze for six hours. It is known what saved her
This story may literally chill your blood. In Minnesota in 1980, one of the residents came across a woman's frozen body several yards from his house. It turned out that it was his friend. The woman had been lying there for six hours. Without much hope for rescue, the man took her to the hospital. To his surprise - his friend recovered after a few days.
10:25 AM EDT, October 25, 2023
She was coming home after drinking alcohol
At the time, 19-year-old Jean Hilliard was returning home on December 20th. She was driving, even though she was under the influence of alcohol. Outside, the conditions were horrendous - the temperature was 30 degrees below zero. At some point, Jean lost control of the wheel and her car slid off the road.
The woman set off on a longer journey on foot. She decided to walk to her friend's house, as it was the closest. After covering about two miles in such freezing weather, she lost consciousness. It turns out she fell just 16 feet short of her friend Wally Nelson's house.
The homeowner noticed her a few hours later. He drove her to the hospital but had no hopes that Jean would survive. The doctors were of a similar opinion, having declared her dead. However, they had to thaw the 19-year-old's body in order to perform an autopsy.
12 beats per minute
Body thawing was done using blankets and pillows. One of the nurses, who was helping in the whole process, at one moment felt a faint pulse. She measured it and it turned out to be 12 beats per minute. Jean was still fighting for her life.
This sparked action from the doctors, who began the process of reviving the woman. It took a few hours before Jean regained consciousness. And a few days were needed for her to fully recover.
How did this happen? Doctors suspect that it could have been a matter of alcohol in the woman's blood, which prevented the woman's vital organs from completely freezing.
A year ago, FOX channel conducted an interview with Jean, who is now known as Jean Vig, is 62 years old and still feels completely healthy!
