VIDEO OF REPORT
the video with the article says 17-1/2 hours dead (on ventilator) but no brain activity for that duration. 

http://www.newsnet5.com/health/16363548/detail.html

Woman Wakes Up After Family Says Goodbye, Tubes Pulled
Patient Brought To Cleveland Clinic

POSTED: 12:58 pm EDT May 22, 2008
UPDATED: 1:20 pm EDT May 22, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio—A West Virginia woman was being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic after walking the line between life and death.

Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle. They said they can’t explain how she is alive.

They said Thomas suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 minutes. At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, her heart stopped and she had no pulse. A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said.

“Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled. Death had set in,“ said son Jim Thomas.

They rushed her to a West Virginia hospital. Doctors put Thomas on a special machine which induces hypothermia. The treatment involves lowering the body temperature for up to 24 hours before warming a patient up.

After that procedure, her heart stopped again.

“She had no neurological function,“ said Dr. Kevin Eggleston.

Her family said goodbye and doctors removed all the tubes.

However, Thomas was kept on a ventilator a little while longer as an organ donor issue was discussed.

Ten minutes later the woman woke up and started talking.

“She (nurse) said, ‘I’m so sorry Mrs. Thomas.‘ And mom said, ‘That’s OK honey. That’s OK,“ Jim Thomas said.

Val Thomas and her family strongly believe that the Lord granted them their miracle and they want everyone to know.

“I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don’t know what it is but I’m sure he’ll tell me,“ she said.

She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for specialist to check her out. Doctors said amazingly she has no blockage and will be fine.

17 minutes, not 17 hours.
Quite a difference, seeing as people hand hold their breath for 17 minutes these days….

I know that’s what the article says but the video VIDEO OF REPORT  says hours not minutes so I’m not sure if the minutes are after the procedure began and then they gave up but the hours are from the time she was first found at home and then taken to the hospital.  It’s not clear. 

It does appear that the 17-1/2 hours began that from the time:
1.  of the first heart attack and
2.  the ambulance called,
3.  then the procedure to cool her down (which took a long time, not minutes,
4.  and then bring her back up to warmth,
5.  then putting her on life support,
6.  then the family praying and
7.  deciding to have life support be pulled etc.

had to have been the ‘hours’ and not ‘minutes’ since I cannot wrap my head around all those events from beginning to end being a matter of minutes.VIDEO OF REPORT

Look, doctors everyhwere, when rigor mortis sets in, call the time of death.

If someobody’s cold, with no pulse, rigor mortis and curled fingers, they’ve been dead for about 3 hours. 99.99999999% of the time it just ain’t worth the effort trying to wake them up.

She may be the 0.000000001% but still. Not a good medical practice.

All I can think of is Father Jack drinking that floor polish!

Father Ted: Right, well it looks bad alright. I called Dr. Sinnot, I gave him the symptoms over the phone and he said he’s probably dead alright. The pulse not being there is bad enough, but the heart stopping is the real danger sign.

Okay, this news article is a bit more clear :  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777532/

Woman Wakes Up After Family Says Goodbye, Tubes Pulled
 
NewsNet5.com
updated 5:57 p.m. ET, Thurs., May. 22, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A West Virginia woman was being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic after walking the line between life and death. Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle. They said they can’t explain how she is alive.

They said Thomas suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 hours. At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, her heart stopped and she had no pulse. A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said.

“Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled. Death had set in,“ said son Jim Thomas.

They rushed her to a West Virginia hospital. Doctors put Thomas on a special machine which induces hypothermia. The treatment involves lowering the body temperature for up to 24 hours before warming a patient up.

After that procedure, her heart stopped again.

“She had no neurological function,“ said Dr. Kevin Eggleston.

Her family said goodbye and doctors removed all the tubes.

However, Thomas was kept on a ventilator a little while longer as an organ donor issue was discussed.

Ten minutes later the woman woke up and started talking.

“She (nurse) said, ‘I’m so sorry Mrs. Thomas.‘ And mom said, ‘That’s OK honey. That’s OK,“ Jim Thomas said.

Val Thomas and her family strongly believe that the Lord granted them their miracle and they want everyone to know.

“I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don’t know what it is but I’m sure he’ll tell me,“ she said.

She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for specialist to check her out. Doctors said amazingly she has no blockage and will be fine.

Wow.

I think she may have taught my typing class in high school.

(It was the curled finders thing and no brain activity that gave her away…)

Just kidding!
This may be the FIRST and ONLY case of resurrection after rigor mortis that we have in history!

Hm.. if she’d shown up alive after three days dead, we’d have to start a religion after her.

A simple explaination would be that she had no detected brain activity for however long it was.  Modern medical procedures are greatly improved over what they used to be, but they’re still far from being perfect.

Or perhaps she’s some sort of alien android sent here to prepare the way for the destruction of the planet in four years.  Something like that.

Robin Bobcat - 23 May 2008 02:02 AM

Hm.. if she’d shown up alive after three days dead, we’d have to start a religion after her.

Sorry Robin, that one is already taken.  I think it would have to be at least a week now.  And even then those darn Christians would want to co-opt the event and blame it on their own god.