EMS at my old hospital carried Demerol (meperidine) and morphine in their kits (and this, and not recreational overdoses, was what they usually used Narcan for, too). Towards the end of my time there, in the late 00s, they replaced the Demerol with fentanyl.
Even if she already had fentanyl in her system when she wrecked, EMS probably gave her more, if she was responding to severe pain.
She is not expected to survive.
It seems odd that she’d of suffered a severe brain injury but not have a bloody head in any of the pics in this thread that were taken at the accident site.
No, it’s not. Anoxic brain injuries come from oxygen deprivation, such as smothering, choking, drowning, smoke inhalation. Head trauma is not required.
Lots of boxers and football players have suffered brain damage without ever breaking the skin.
…her closest ones are making the difficult decision to take her off life support after she was pronounced brain dead. She is being kept on a ventilator until it’s determined whether any organs not damaged in the crash and subsequent fire can be donated.
Time for the wrap party.
How very sad.
The brain is inside the skull, and it can be injured by impact with a flat, smooth surface without ever breaking the skin. Liam Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson, thumped her head while skiing in 2009. She was walking and talking immediately after, but a couple of hours later her condition rapidly deteriorated, and two days later she died.
Anne is fortunate that she’s been unconscious since shortly after the wreck. She would have woken to a life of indescribable agony.
Wishing her troubled soul all the best.
Elfkin477 note:
Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury
Anoxic brain injuries are caused by a complete lack of oxygen to the brain, which results in the death of brain cells after approximately four minutes of oxygen deprivation.
Fifty-nine firefighters battled the blaze, which had engulfed both Heche’s car and the house, for 65 minutes until she could be safely pulled out of the wreckage.
So I think she simply wasn’t breathing in much oxygen during much of the fire. As to her briefly regaining consciousness after being pulled out of the wreckage I wonder if that was accurate–perhaps it was just a reflex movement.
[Moderating]
I’ve updated the title to reflect her current condition.
Damn. I’m so sorry to hear this.
I’m not going to say this is the best outcome for her, but her survival would’ve involved a horrific amount of pain and herculean effort. At least she’s been spared that agony.
Sad for her loved ones though.
I agree. Sad, but - for her sake - better than most alternatives.
Drive safety, folks.
I was just reading on wiki, she had a brother Nathan who died in a car crash before his high school graduation. She claimed it was suicide but that is disputed.
This is sad all around.
Wow. I don’t know why I’m crying. Must be very emotional today. I wasn’t a huge fan, but his just seems like such a waste. We do such a bad job with mental illness and associated substance abuse. Just sad sad sad.
I’ve verified the linked tweet from @Biotop and it is being reported she has died. I updated the title and tagged the thread.
I’m not massively upset, barely remember outside the time she was dating(married?) to Ellen DeGeneres and that was in the news. It’s very sad to see what happened to her.
Is everyone OK in the house/building she crashed into?