hatetown Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 http://news.aol.com/story/_a/man-awake-talking-after-47-story-fall/20080104073009990001 Man Awake, Talking After 47-Story Fall By DAVID B. CARUSO, Posted: 2008-01-04 14:28:50 Filed Under: Health News, Weird News NEW YORK (Jan. 3) - Doctors say they have never seen anything like it: A window washer who fell 47 stories from the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper is now awake, talking to his family and expected to walk again. Alcides Moreno, 37, plummeted almost 500 feet in a Dec. 7 scaffolding collapse that killed his brother. var mod_302817 = new pgGlbObject(); mod_302817.pgTotalImages = "4"; mod_302817.pgGalleryId = "18520"; mod_302817.omnitureURL=encodeURI('http://news.aol.com/common/photogallery/omniture.adp'); mod_302817.xmlUrl=encodeURI('http://news.aol.com/common/photogallery/response.xml'); mod_302817.magicNumber= ""; mod_302817.feedType = 'news'; mod_302817.gallerySize = 'xl'; mod_302817.adContinue = 'Continue'; mod_302817.adCaption = 'Advertisement'; mod_302817.adURL = encodeURI('http://news.aol.com/common/photogallery/ad_page.html?debug=0&magicnumber='); mod_302817.adSpot = '300x250_1';Photo Gallery Ruth Fremson, The New York Times 'Thank God For the Miracle' 1 of 4 Rosario Moreno, center, is the wife of Alcides Moreno, a window washer who has made a stunning recovery after plunging 47 stories from a New York skyscraper. "Thank God for the miracle that we had," she said. "He keeps telling me that it just wasn't his time." Somehow, Moreno lived, and doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center announced Thursday that his recovery has been astonishing. He has movement in all his limbs. He is breathing on his own. And on Christmas Day, he opened his mouth and spoke for the first time since the accident. His wife, Rosario Moreno, cried as she thanked the doctors and nurses who kept him alive. "Thank God for the miracle that we had," she said. "He keeps telling me that it just wasn't his time." Dr. Herbert Pardes, the hospital's president, described Moreno's condition when he arrived for treatment as "a complete disaster." Both legs and his right arm and wrist were broken in several places. He had severe injuries to his chest, his abdomen and his spinal column. His brain was bleeding. Everything was bleeding, it seemed. In those first critical hours, doctors pumped 24 units of donated blood into his body - about twice his entire blood volume. They gave him plasma and platelets and a drug to stimulate clotting and stop the hemorrhaging. They inserted a catheter into his brain to reduce swelling and cut open his abdomen to relieve pressure on his organs. Moreno was at the edge of consciousness when he was brought in. Doctors sedated him, performed a tracheotomy and put him on a ventilator. His condition was so unstable, doctors worried that even a mild jostle might kill him, so they performed his first surgery without moving him to an operating room. Nine orthopedic operations followed to piece together his broken body. Yet, even when things were at their worst, the hospital's staff marveled at his luck. Incredibly, Moreno's head injuries were relatively minor for a fall victim. Neurosurgeon John Boockvar said the window washer also managed to avoid a paralyzing spinal cord injury, even though he suffered a shattered vertebra. "If you are a believer in miracles, this would be one," said the hospital's chief of surgery, Dr. Philip Barie. New York-Presbyterian has treated people who have tumbled from great heights before, including a patient who survived a 19-story fall, but most of those tales end sadly. The death rate from even a three-story fall is about 50 percent, Barie said. People who fall more than 10 stories almost never survive. "Forty-seven floors is virtually beyond belief," Pardes said. Science may never be able to explain what protected Moreno when the platform he and his brother were using atop an Upper East Side apartment tower broke free and fell to the ground. Edgar Moreno, 30, of Linden N.J., died instantly. He was buried in Ecuador, where the brothers are from. Alcides Moreno, whom his wife described as strong and athletic, may have clung to his scaffolding platform as it dropped. It is possible that the metal platform offered him some protection, although doctors said they were unsure how. An investigation into the cause of the accident continues. Rosario Moreno said that her husband remembers little of the fall but that he didn't need to be told his brother had died. The injured window washer spent about three weeks on a ventilator, unable to speak, and initially his only means of communication was by touch. "He wanted to touch my face, touch my hair," Rosario Moreno said. She would take his hand and hold it to her skin. Then, one day, he reached out and touched one of the nurses. Rosario Moreno said that when she heard about it, she jokingly lectured her husband to keep his hands to himself. He answered in English, "What did I do?" "It stunned me," she said, "because I didn't know he could speak." There is still a rough road ahead for the tough New Jersey man, a father of three children, ages 14, 8 and 6. He was scheduled to undergo another spinal surgery on Friday, and he will need another operation to reconstruct his abdominal wall. There is a chance he could develop complications, even life-threatening ones, during the months ahead. Moreno will remain in the hospital for at least a few more weeks, doctors said. After that, he will need extensive physical rehabilitation. It may be another year before doctors know how much he will improve. The medical staff was guarded Thursday about his prospects for returning to a normal life. Doctors said they believe he will walk, but they also suggested that some of his injuries are likely to be lifelong. "We're optimistic for a very substantial recovery, eventually," Barie said Rosario Moreno said she knows this much for sure: His days as a window washer are over. "I told him, 'You're not going back to work there,'" she said. 2008-01-04 07:30:36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
After School Special Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 In those first critical hours, doctors pumped 24 units of donated blood into his body - about twice his entire blood volume. The death rate from even a three-story fall is about 50 percent, Barie said. People who fall more than 10 stories almost never survive. "Forty-seven floors is virtually beyond belief," Pardes said. That's pretty much the craziest story ever. Fuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOU Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayabusa Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 he's a superhero that was just his cover job thankfully not many people are looking beyond the whole "it was a miracle" thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrChupacabra Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Absolutely insane. I don't even understand how its possible that his head or spine wasn't totally obliterated, regardless of how he landed. Motherfucker fell 500 feet, for god's sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
After School Special Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Seriously, I'd expect you'd have to clean dude up with a sponge and a bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatetown Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 I don't even understand how its possible that his head or spine wasn't totally obliterated. h4x. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blart.BOS Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOU Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Fucking with that miracle crap. You know if this dude doesn't save the world then G-O-D wasted a miracle. Get the fuck out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makeoutbandit Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 31337 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawood Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Here's the impact zone.....that's amazing....If that was me, when I woke up I would've said "psych" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAR Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 this isnt the first time ive heard of this happening. there have been people who go sky diving and their paracutes dont work and some how they mannage to survive. I mean if you read it, he didnt make it without injury. He had internal bleeding and fluid in his brain; dudes lucky it was that little, even so 30-40 yrs ago he would have been a goner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRUNKEN-ASSHOLE-ONER Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 h4x. What the fuck is a h4x? What are you trying to say? Like Hacks? as in a hacker? Or h4xorz? If so, then WTF does that have to do with this story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatetown Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 h4xorz d00d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crime stoppers Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 im not sure, but a 47 story fall would mean that he probably came close to, or reached, terminal velocity.............thats fucking amazing to come out of that so easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricitySucks Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 thats physics, not a miracle. but good job to the doctors.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRUNKEN-ASSHOLE-ONER Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Nah my dude. Physics would = his entire body splattering upon impact on that granite and/or brick surface. Espescially his head and ALL of its inner contents. That shit's a fucking miracle B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricitySucks Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Nah my dude. Physics would = his entire body splattering upon impact on that granite and/or brick surface. Espescially his head and ALL of its inner contents. That shit's a fucking miracle B. i guess it depends on your on dictionary of the word "miracle" and if you want, throw the word "physics" in there. the physics is what happened. just the right weight, mass, air, time, way he landed and all those numbers come into effect the outcome of the dude not completely splattered everywhere. oh yeah, e=mc2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRUNKEN-ASSHOLE-ONER Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I don't give a fuck what dude weighed, how the wind was blowing, how he landed... whatever. Dude fell 47 stories onto a granite sidewalk. He should have splatterdied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatetown Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 what do i keep saying... H4X0RZZ!1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire15 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I bet he was a cop. A gay cop. That shit cant happen. No way. Bleh bleh bleh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viperface Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 IDDQD cheater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHDS Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 The dude didn't land on a granite sidewalk, he hit a bunch of piled up cables which probably absorbed alot of the shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foneiz2 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 pics of injuries plz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bad_news Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 REDBULL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Blazzed Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 ITS THE FUCKING MATRIX DUDE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dowmagik Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 IDDQD cheater IDKFA, dude had mad armor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce_1nR Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I can't even imagine taking a fall this hard. I've taken falls from like...20 feet onto concrete. Put me on crutches for two weeks. 30 feet onto loosely packed soil....got me shook, nothing bad happened. I think I'll just keep my feet on the ground, and climb buildings with ladders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatetown Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 admin_godmode enabled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sner! Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Wanna why we should let mexicans cross the border? So they can breed with us and make super children that fall hundreds of feet without dying...pretty soon evolution will give us laser beam eyes...dont you worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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