BACK FROM DEATH.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LX, Issue 143766, 15 April 1912, Page 7

BACK FROM DEATH.

That tho dead, of “apparently dead” are being brought to life is a story which comes rather insistently from Chicago, Illinois. Several times during the past week the newspapers in Now York have printed stories about a wonderful apparatus called the “pulmotor,” which has been successfully used on people pronounced dead by piivsioians, bringing them back to life, ami, what' is more, ia perfect health. The’ persistency with which tho stories are printed inclines one to the belief that they are founded on truth. Now Chicago correspondents say that a young man named Haas, asphyxiated by coal-gas whom his friends, after three hours’ work, failed to restore to consciousness, and ho was .riven up ns dead. Hr. J. Lewis was called in, and after throe hours’ work with the’ pulmotor the man was able to sit up and express wonder and ‘thanks, declaring that he felt as well as before he was overcome. Dr. Lewis said that, speaking medically, Haas was in a state of death when ho arrived. Practically speaking, ho was dead.

Those who witnessed tho operation wore utterly awed, and oven terrified, at seeing the spirit of life forced to return. According to report, Haas is the fifth man who has been “called back,” and fifteen others would have died but for the wonderful instrument.

Tlio “pulmotor” is a German device, consisting simply of a tank holding oxygen under a pressure of 30001 b to tho°sqniire inch, with a pump and valve for reducing the pressure to 21b to the square inch. When the pulmotor cannot be obtained, we are told, au ordinary electric vacuum cleaner can bo used effectively; although this pumps only air into the patient’s lungs instead of oxygon. By ibis simple method, however, the heart of a woman who had just undergone a severe operation was kept going recently for thirty hours, and the efforts to keep her alive were only relinquisher! when it was found that her heart was so weak that it could not pump for itself that the artificial action ceased.