Dream Chaser ⚡️ on Nostr: Anna Bagenholm is a Swedish radiologist who survived one of the worst cases of ...
Anna Bagenholm is a Swedish radiologist who survived one of the worst cases of hypothermia ever recorded and officially set the record for the lowest human body temperature ever recorded.
In 1999, Bagenholm was on a skiing trip with her friends along a trail in Narvik, Norway, as was her daily routine after work.
While attempting to maneuver around a nearly frozen waterfall, she fell headfirst into a hole in the ice and got stuck with only her feet protruding from the water.
Her friends attempted to help her out of the hole, but the ice-cold stream took her even deeper into the freezing ice. Because of that, her friends decided to call an emergency rescue team on their phone. But one way or another, she survived inside after finding an air pocket between the water and the ice.
By the time the rescue team assisted her out of the stream, she had been submerged for 80 minutes total. Bagenholm's temperature had dropped down to what was at the time the lowest recorded (about 56.6 degrees Fahrenheit and 13.7 degrees Celsius), her pupils were dilated, and her heart had stopped beating.
The emergency team tried to give her CPR, but they failed. For a short time, she was dead.
A helicopter took her to a hospital. When she arrived, she was hooked into a bypass machine. The team would try to warm up her blood until she regained her pulse and her body temperature went back to normal. The plan was successful, and she survived. Over 100 doctors and nurses assisted in bringing Bagenholm back to life.
Dr. Mads Gilbert, an anesthesiologist who worked at the hospital, believed the subzero temperatures actually helped:
"Her body had time to cool down completely before the heart stopped. Her brain was so cold when the heart stopped that the brain cells needed very little oxygen, so the brain could survive for quite a prolonged time."
Fortunately, she suffered no visible brain damage. But she had to pay a price for surviving that accident — the damage it did to her nerves made it more difficult for her to use her hands when it came to writing and cooking.
In 1999, Bagenholm was on a skiing trip with her friends along a trail in Narvik, Norway, as was her daily routine after work.
While attempting to maneuver around a nearly frozen waterfall, she fell headfirst into a hole in the ice and got stuck with only her feet protruding from the water.
Her friends attempted to help her out of the hole, but the ice-cold stream took her even deeper into the freezing ice. Because of that, her friends decided to call an emergency rescue team on their phone. But one way or another, she survived inside after finding an air pocket between the water and the ice.
By the time the rescue team assisted her out of the stream, she had been submerged for 80 minutes total. Bagenholm's temperature had dropped down to what was at the time the lowest recorded (about 56.6 degrees Fahrenheit and 13.7 degrees Celsius), her pupils were dilated, and her heart had stopped beating.
The emergency team tried to give her CPR, but they failed. For a short time, she was dead.
A helicopter took her to a hospital. When she arrived, she was hooked into a bypass machine. The team would try to warm up her blood until she regained her pulse and her body temperature went back to normal. The plan was successful, and she survived. Over 100 doctors and nurses assisted in bringing Bagenholm back to life.
Dr. Mads Gilbert, an anesthesiologist who worked at the hospital, believed the subzero temperatures actually helped:
"Her body had time to cool down completely before the heart stopped. Her brain was so cold when the heart stopped that the brain cells needed very little oxygen, so the brain could survive for quite a prolonged time."
Fortunately, she suffered no visible brain damage. But she had to pay a price for surviving that accident — the damage it did to her nerves made it more difficult for her to use her hands when it came to writing and cooking.