University of Arizona student Sam Schmid was close to death this week when he awoke from what doctors originally thought was an unrecoverable coma. The business major was injured during an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tuscon, Arizona.
Doctors were discussing taking Schmid off life support with his mom when just hours before a final decision was to be made he awoke from his coma and was immediately responsive.
When learning that his patient, believed to be brain dead had awoken from his coma his doctor responded:
“I am dumbfounded with his incredible recovery in such a short time. His recovery was really remarkable considering the extent of his lethal injuries.”
Despite those injuries Schmid said of his recovery:
“I feel fine. I’m in a wheelchair, but I am getting lots of help.”
His mom looked at the set of circumstances as more than just luck:
“I tell everyone, if they want to call it a modern-day miracle, this is a miracle. I have friends who are atheists who have called me and said, ‘I am going back to church.’”
His mom goes on to tell ABCNews :
“Nobody could ever give me a better Christmas present than this — ever, ever, ever.”
It should be noted that Schmid’s doctor wasn’t a low-level surgeon with little experience, instead he was operated on by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Spetzler, the same doctor who operated on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she received a gun shot wound to the head, along with 6,000 other patients with similar injuries.
In his assessment Spetzler revealed:
“It looked like all the odds were stacked against him.”
Whether or not it’s a holiday miracle there is one thing that is for certain, college students in Arizona have had a string of good luck recently, including an Arizona State University student who managed to survive for 10-days after his car was blocked in by a snowstorm.
Would you call Sam Schmid’s recovery just before he may have been pulled off life support a holiday miracle?
