Fireman Who Spoke After Being in Coma Dies

[Porsha911gt3 8]

Fireman Who Spoke After Being in Coma Dies

By CAROLYN THOMPSON

Associated Press Writer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A brain-injured firefighter who suddenly spoke after nearly a decade in a stupor, giving hope to families of countless other patients, died Tuesday. He was 44.

Donald Herbert was injured in December 1995, when the roof of a burning home collapsed on him. Deprived of oxygen for several minutes, he ended up blind, was largely mute and showed little awareness of his surroundings for years.

But on April 30, 2005, he shocked his family with a 14-hour talking jag. Since then, he spoke only sporadically.

Herbert was hospitalized again on Sunday with an infection.

"Don fought very long and hard ... right to the end. Last night he was breathing very hard, trying to keep going," Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said.

Herbert is survived by his wife, Linda, and four sons.

His breakthrough came three months after his doctor began giving him drugs normally used to treat Parkinson's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. Dr. Jamil Ahmed said at the time that the medications had shown promise with more recently brain-damaged patients.

There have been a few other widely publicized examples of brain-damaged patients showing sudden improvement after a number of years, at least temporarily, but experts say they are rare.

Ahmed has said that since Herbert's story became public, families from around the world with loved ones in comas have called to inquire about the drug combination. Ahmed did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.

Until the weekend before his death, Herbert continued to interact and speak, but never to the extent of the initial burst, said Lombardo, a longtime friend of Herbert's. As recently as last week, he had been playing catch with his sons in the nursing home where he lived, the commissioner said.

"He was never as good as he was right after he woke up ... but he was pretty good right up to the end," Lombardo said.

Herbert's uncle, Simon Manka, said Herbert developed pneumonia over the weekend and did not improve with antibiotics. His wife and sons were with him when he died.

After reawakening last year, Herbert had been surprised to find he had been unresponsive for so long. His sons were 14, 13, 11 and 3 at the time of the accident.

"It was very very disturbing. He felt like he wasn't there for his children and he certainly was," Lombardo said.

[Guest]

FF Herbert, may you rest in peace. I send my condolences to his family, friends and the City of Buffalo firefighting family.

Hank G.

Herbert, Donald 

Age: 44 

Cause of Death: Caught or Trapped 

Rank: Firefighter 

Nature of Death: Other 

Classification: Career 

Emergency Duty: Yes   

Incident Date: 12/29/1995 

Duty Type: On-Scene Fire 

Incident Time: 06:14 

Activity Type: Advance Hose Lines/Fire Attack (includes Wildland) 

Death Date: 02/21/2006 

Fixed Prop. Use: Residential 

Fire Dept. Info: Name: Buffalo Fire Department

195 Court Street

Buffalo , New York  14202

Chief: Commissioner Michael Lombardo

 

Initial Summary:    Firefighter Herbert was operating fire attack in the attic at a working residential structure fire, when a portion of the roof collapsed trapping him for a period of time.

As a result of injuries sustained and a lack of oxygen, Herbert became comatose and remained in that condition until approximately one year ago when a level of consciousness returned, though he remained paralyzed in a wheel chair.

Due to further complications of his injuries, Herbert's conditioned worsened and he died 02/21/2006. 

 

Memorial Fund Info: Any information regarding Memorial Fund will be posted on the union website at www.buffalofirefighters.com 

USFA

[ex-commish 490]

May he rest in eternal peace and may God look after his family.

Andy Mancusi

Chief

Hawthorne FD

[xfirefighter484x 234]

This just goes to show firefighters are some of the toughest mofos out there! A valiant effort put up by FF Herbert, may he now rest in peace.

[RWC130 594]

FF Herbert RIP!

[Guest]

RIP

credit: Associated Press 2-25-06

Edited February 27, 2006 by hoss49

[FFD260 1]

MAY HE REST IN PEACE...

MICHAELACORDELLI

FPO

FAIRVIEW FD