# Woman Survives After Being Frozen For Hours **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530 "2014-04-07T05:17:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/1 "2014-04-07T05:17:41Z")
[Christine Newman survives being frozen overnight,](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christine-newman-s-medical-miracle-revived-from-near-death-1.2591379) has four hours of CPR. She is expected to make a full recovery - they don’t even expect her to lose any fingers or toes. We use the word “miracle” a lot these days, but this is really spectacular - everything managed to go right for her to be alive, much less make a full recovery. I suspect she has frog genes. Just wanted to share that with you all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Boogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boogly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/2 "2014-04-07T05:27:01Z")
4 hours? When I was in Boot Camp the D.I.'s said after an hour of CPR to move on to more effective tasks. Kudos and then some to those people and I hope she pulls through. But… I thought my ex was the Ice Queen… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/3 "2014-04-07T05:30:08Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > \ > But… > I thought my ex was the Ice Queen… Heh - that could be her nickname for life now. 🙂 My understanding of CPR is that it usually wouldn’t go anywhere near that long, either - the more I hear about this story, the more it sounds like people made the right decisions all the way along, even though they weren’t necessarily the usual decisions. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/4 "2014-04-07T10:56:03Z")
This happens from time to time, and it’s always amazing. The perfect circumstances. It’s too bad that they don’t have a recording of their vitals so that they can duplicate it for medical reasons. > **[Canadian Toddler Survives Sub-zero Cold](https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132291&page=1)** ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/5 "2014-04-07T11:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > “The stars were aligned” says Squamish Search and Rescue’s John Willcox What a lucky astrological event. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/6 "2014-04-07T12:33:59Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > 4 hours? When I was in Boot Camp the D.I.'s said after an hour of CPR to move on to more effective tasks. There are exceptions to that rule, mainly involving severe hypothermia, electrocution, and drowning. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/7 "2014-04-07T12:38:05Z")
OK, I’m the nitpick jerk. She was not frozen. She had severe hypothermia. Nobody has ever been thawed out and revived after being frozen. Still, a great story. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/8 "2014-04-07T13:15:58Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Nobody has ever been thawed out and revived after being frozen. There was [Jean Hilliard](http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/03/us/dakota-teen-ager-recovers-after-being-frozen-stiff.html)… > [@](#): > > Miss Hilliard was frozen after a midnight automobile accident in rural northwestern Minnesota. When she arrived at the Fosston, Minn., hospital, her skin was too hard to pierce with a hypodermic needle. Her temperature was too low to register on a thermometer. Her face was ashen and her eyes were solid and did not respond to light. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/9 "2014-04-07T13:43:52Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Nobody has ever been thawed out and revived after being frozen. Well, Steve Rogers… ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/10 "2014-04-07T15:52:50Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > OK, I’m the nitpick jerk. > > She was not frozen. She had severe hypothermia. Nobody has ever been thawed out and revived after being frozen. > > Still, a great story. Meh, if you mean “encased in a block of ice” that’s one thing, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/11 "2014-04-07T16:10:21Z")
“Her body was very cold. There were no vital signs. The group of six — a Calgary RCMP officer and his wife, a retired paramedic, a carpenter, an office worker and a German student — got to work.” That’s like, a list of people you would choose to be the main characters in your compelling movie script about a snowy mountain rescue. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/12 "2014-04-07T16:31:19Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > 4 hours? When I was in Boot Camp the D.I.'s said after an hour of CPR to move on to more effective tasks. Severe hypothermia is an exception. In that case, you’re not dead until you’re _warm_ and dead. Resuscitation efforts can go on for a surprisingly long time in those instances because it does take a long time to properly and carefully rewarm someone that far gone. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/13 "2014-04-07T16:35:54Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > …her eyes were solid… Yeah, that’s pretty damn frozen. Also…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/14 "2014-04-07T16:55:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > “Her body was very cold. There were no vital signs. The group of six — a Calgary RCMP officer and his wife, a retired paramedic, a carpenter, an office worker and a German student — got to work.” > > That’s like, a list of people you would choose to be the main characters in your compelling movie script about a snowy mountain rescue. Or a rollicking game of [Fiasco](http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/). “So, you just found a frozen body, a bag full of money, and a note written in Magyar…” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/15 "2014-04-07T20:59:02Z")
[This woman didn’t survive freezing.](http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2014/04/03/dnt-woman-frozen-in-body-bag.kcal&hpt=hp_t3&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F) (Link to video of family saying hospital put mother in the morgue while she was still live. She struggled to get out of the body bag in the cooler, getting it partly open and turning over in it, but froze to death. Tragic and horrifying if true.) StG ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/16 "2014-04-08T00:46:14Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > “Her body was very cold. There were no vital signs. The group of six — a Calgary RCMP officer and his wife, a retired paramedic, a carpenter, an office worker and a German student — got to work.” > > That’s like, a list of people you would choose to be the main characters in your compelling movie script about a snowy mountain rescue. I think the RCMP officer and paramedic are a big part of the reason she’s alive now - she had all kinds of “right people at the right time” going for her. > [@StGermain](#): > > [This woman didn’t survive freezing.](http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2014/04/03/dnt-woman-frozen-in-body-bag.kcal&hpt=hp_t3&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F) (Link to video of family saying hospital put mother in the morgue while she was still live. She struggled to get out of the body bag in the cooler, getting it partly open and turning over in it, but froze to death. Tragic and horrifying if true.) > > StG Man, that sucks - no one wants to wake up in a body bag in a morgue! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/17 "2014-04-08T01:23:37Z")
> [@](#): > > ‘The stars were aligned’ says Squamish Search and Rescue’s John Willcox The stars were right! Ph’nglui Mglw’nafh Chr’stine T’nk N’wman S’quamish wgah’nagl fhtagn. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/18 "2014-04-08T02:43:58Z")
I guess I’m the only one who thinks she wasn’t too bright going snowshoeing alone and then going out in the middle of the night when she didn’t know where she was going. She’s very very lucky. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/19 "2014-04-09T06:56:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Severe hypothermia is an exception. In that case, you’re not dead until you’re _warm_ and dead. Resuscitation efforts can go on for a surprisingly long time in those instances because it does take a long time to properly and carefully rewarm someone that far gone. Exactly. This includes cold drownings. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530/20 "2014-04-09T14:17:33Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > There was [Jean Hilliard](http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/03/us/dakota-teen-ager-recovers-after-being-frozen-stiff.html)… Still not frozen. While her extremities may have frozen (skin pupils etc) the report says she had a heartbeat of 12 and a body temp of 88. [Quote=elninost0rm] Meh, if you mean “encased in a block of ice” that’s one thing, I guess. [/Quote] No, I mean frozen. As in her body reached a temperature below the freezing point of water. Many people have had skin and extremities frozen and survived. Usually the parts of their bodies that were frozen had to be amputated or were rendered to useless. Nobody has ever had a working organ or brain frozen and then thawed back to life. Some hypothermia victims have been miraculously revived but they too were not frozen. Edit: my misread - the docs did not have a thermometer to read below 88 so no telling how low her temp was. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-survives-after-being-frozen-for-hours/685530.md?page=2)