An American marine injured during the Second World War and stuck in a deep coma ever since, regained consciousness at the Naval Medical Center (NMCSD). James Hill, a 95-year old former sergeant who is decorated with two purple heart medals and a Navy cross, was severely injured by the explosion of an artillery shell during the battle of Iwo Jima, on the 27th of February 1945. Doctors had been able to miraculously save his life, but the shock was so violent and the brain damage was so severe, that they thought he was condemned to remain inert for the rest of his life.
It is a controversial new treatment that was recently applied to Mr Hill, that somehow extracted him from his unconsciousness. This new approach developed by a German scientist, Professor Hans Friedritch Müller, is based on the use of various experimental drugs and repeated series of low voltage eletroshocks. This technique is still in its development phase and had been allowed to be tested only on four patients who were considered to have “very low probabilities” of recovering.
The surprising turnout of the experiment unfortunately comes many years too late to save the military hero’s marriage and family life. His wife remained loyally at his side for nine years, caring for their two children, one of which she was bearing when he was dispatched overseas and whom he never never had seen before yesterday. She finally filed for divorce and obtained it in 1954, and got remarried one year later. Her new husband legally adopted Mr. Hill’s children, since he was considered “brain dead”. Sixty years later, he now wakes up to find out his wife and son are already dead, and his unknown daughter is turning 70 years old. He however has four grandchildren and three great grandchildren, whom he has never met, a strange solace that hopefully will help him accept his situation.
The re-adaptation process is also expected to be extremely difficult for the old man, if not impossible. Most of his muscles have not been stimulated for years and a long program of physiotherapy will be need before Mister Hill can even move his arms normally, and he might never be able to stand or walk again. His assimilation to the wide range of new technologies that appeared during his coma should also prove very difficult if not completely impossible, considering he has never seen a computer in his life. Bringing the man to understand the world’s historical evolution since 1945 and explaining to him the context in which he has awakened, should already take a lot of time and effort, and also quite a bit of diplomacy.
According to the Guinness World Records, Mr. Hill is now the holder of many certified records, including the longest coma ever recorded and the longest coma from which anyone ever emerged. The former record for the longest coma ever was held by Elaine Esposito, dubbed the “sleeping beauty,” who stayed in a coma for 37 years and 111 days before succumbing in 1978, while the record of longest coma ever survived was held by the American Terry Wallis from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, who on June 11, 2003, regained awareness after spending 19 years in a minimally conscious state.
BMSS Addendum
by Gregg Prescott, M.S.
Editor, BodyMindSoulSpirit.com
Imagine being in a coma for 69 years, only to wake up and find out that your wife left you and remarried, your children were adopted by the man who remarried your wife, one of your children is no longer alive and the other child is 70 years old? Think about the quality of life almost 70 years ago along with all of the innovations of today. How confusing would it be to see flat screen TV’s, cell phones, or computers?
When Hill went into a coma, The Andrew Sisters, Perry Como and Bing Crosby were all at the peak of their musical careers and all are deceased. Chances are, Hill would have loved the inception of rock n’ roll but now, it’s an alien-like style of music to his ears.
And as much as things have changed, imagine waking up 69 years later to find out we’re still perpetuating war and that his enemy at the time of his coma is now an ally? Imagine learning how WW2 was ended with the atomic bomb and that nuclear weapons of mass destruction are the number one threat to mankind today?
According the the Inflation Calculator:
$1 of 1945 dollars would be worth: $13.16 in 2014
$1 of 2014 dollars would be worth $0.08 in 1945
How much things cost in 1945:
- Average Cost of new house $4.600.00
- Average wages per year $2,400.00
- Cost of a gallon of Gas 15 cents
- Average Cost for house rent $60.00 per month
- Average Cost New Car $1,020.00
- Men’s Shirt $2.50
I’d love to interview him to get his perspective on how life has changed.
My heart goes out to Hill and his remaining family after all they’ve been through. <3
About the Author:
Gregg Prescott, M.S. is the founder and editor of In5D and BodyMindSoulSpirit. He hosts a weekly spiritual show on In5D Radio and promotes spiritual, metaphysical and esoteric conferences in the United States through In5dEvents. Gregg is currently working in collaboration with Michelle Walling, CHLC, in opening a holistic walk-in clinic called Alternative Holistic Healthcare (AHH) in Sarasota, FL with subsequent subsidiaries around the world based upon this model.
Sourced from: bodymindsoulspirit.com
