Firefighter Emerges From a Lost Decade, Recovers From LODI

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Firefighter Emerges From a Lost Decade 

By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer 

2 hours, 41 minutes ago

 

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Nearly 9 1/2 years after a firefighter was left brain-damaged and mostly mute during a 1995 roof collapse, he did something that shocked his family and doctors: He asked for his wife. 

 

Staff members of the nursing home where Donald Herbert has lived for more than seven years raced to get Linda Herbert on the telephone.

It was the first of many conversations the patient had with his wife, four sons and other family and friends Saturday during a 14-hour stretch, Herbert's uncle Simon Manka said.

"How long have I been away?" Herbert asked.

"We told him almost 10 years," the uncle said. "He thought it was only three months."

Herbert, who will turn 44 Saturday, was fighting a house fire Dec. 29, 1995, when the roof collapsed, burying him under debris. After going without air for several minutes, Herbert was comatose for 2 1/2 months and has undergone therapy ever since.

News accounts in the days and years after his injury describe Herbert as blind and with little, if any, memory. Video shows him receiving physical therapy but apparently unable to communicate and with little awareness of his surroundings.

Manka declined Monday to discuss his nephew's current condition, or whether the apparent progress was continuing this week. The family was seeking privacy while doctors evaluated Herbert, he said.

"He's resting comfortably," the uncle said.

As word of Herbert's progress spread, a steady stream of visitors arrived at the Father Baker Manor nursing home in this Buffalo suburb.

"He stayed up 'til early morning talking with his boys and catching up on what they've been doing over the last several years," firefighter Anthony Liberatore told WIVB-TV.

Herbert's sons were 14, 13, 11 and 3 when he was injured.

Staff members at the nursing facility recognized the change in Herbert, Manka said, when they heard him speaking and "making specific requests."

"The word of the day was `amazing,'" he said.

Dr. Rose Lynn Sherr of New York University Medical Center said when patients recover from brain injuries, they usually do so within two or three years.

"It's almost unheard of after 10 years," she said, "but sometimes things do happen and people suddenly improve and we don't understand why."

Manka said visitors let Herbert set the pace of the conversations and did not bring up the fire in which he was injured.

"The extent and duration of his recovery is not known at this time," Manka said. "However we can tell you he did recognize several family members and friends and did call them by name." 

There have been a few other widely publicized examples of brain-damage patients showing sudden improvement after a number of years. 

In 2003, an Arkansas man, Terry Wallis, returned to consciousness 19 years after he was injured in a car accident, stunning his mother by saying "Mom" and then asking for a Pepsi. His brain function remained limited, his family said months later. 

Tennessee police officer Gary Dockery, who was brain damaged in a 1988 shooting, began speaking to his family one day in 1996, telling jokes and recounting annual winter camping trips. But after 18 hours, he never repeated the unbridled conversation of that day, though he remained more alert than he had been. He died the following year of a blood clot on his lung. 

[CAM502 6]

God bless. See how prayers can lead to miracles. Hope he gets home soon. =D> =D>

[CAM502 6]

This from today's New York Post. Prayers are with FF Herbert and his family.

'MUM TO MIRACLE' SETBACK 

By DAN MANGAN 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DONALD HERBERT

Spoke after 9 years.     

 

 

May 4, 2005 -- A Buffalo firefighter who made a sudden recovery after spending 9 1/2 years mostly blind and all but mute has lost some ground, a nursing-home spokeswoman said yesterday. 

It has been a roller-coaster week for the family of Donald Herbert, 43, who suffered a severe brain injury during a 1995 fire, in which he was buried under debris and left without air for six minutes. 

He shocked family and friends Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo-area nursing home where he lives when he abruptly asked for his wife, Linda. He spent the next 16 hours catching up with his family, fellow firefighters and other friends in his room at Father Baker Manor. But after a lengthy sleep, he awoke Monday less responsive and it is unclear whether his condition will improve. 

His initial recovery was striking. "He was cognizant, able to recognize people's voices and recall who his family members and friends were," said Simon Manka, Herbert's uncle and the family's spokesman. 

Herbert at one point reportedly asked how long he had been "under." When told it had been almost 10 years, he replied, "I thought it was three months." 

Afterward, Herbert fell asleep for about 30 hours. 

Since he awoke Monday, however, Herbert has "periodically" been able to communicate with people, "but nothing to the extent of Saturday," said nursing-home spokeswoman JoAnn Cavanaugh.

[CAM502 6]

From Firehouse.com:

WKBW News

May 04, 2005 - 7 News is expected to get an update today on the condition of Buffalo firefighter Don Herbert. 

The Catholic Health System has scheduled a news conference on the matter. In the meantime, the country continues to talk about this man's miraculous recovery. 

It was a fire Patrick Coughlan will never forget. 

The retired lieutenant worked in Rescue Company One, second platoon, with Don Herbert. 

Don was one of his guys. 

“Donny was a go getter, he was a very active, viable fireman, he ended up in the attic,” said Patrick Coughlan, retired fire lieutenant. 

The roof would eventually cave in on the attic that December 1995 morning. 

The force of the collapse knocked off Don's air mask depriving him of oxygen for several minutes. 

Don Herbert, then 34-years-old, suffered severe brain damage. In the years since he's only been able to communicate through slurred words. 

That is until Saturday afternoon. 

"Some other members of the crew went out to see him and they couldn't believe it. They called me after the visit… 'Paddy, you wouldn't believe it. He's talking, he remembers you, he remembers the whole crew,'" said Coughlan. 

Patrick Coughlan took a trip out to Father Baker Manor on Sunday to see Don. 

"He was fatigued, I would say, yes, sleepy and tired. He had been up to 6 in the morning talking,” said Coughlan. 

From the time he first started talking Saturday afternoon, he kept going, for 14 hours straight, catching up with friends and family. 

Don's former lieutenant says it's all big shock. 

"It makes you stop and think about the power of prayer," said Coughlan.

[Guest pentax02839]

this is great news.I think this is nothing short of a miracle. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>