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'Miracle' Mom Comes Back from the Dead

John Eagan

Story Created: May 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM EDT

Story Updated: May 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM EDT

     No pulse, no blood pressure, and no brain frequency.
     By all indications Val Thomas was dead.
     But her family claims faith saved their mother when others thought all hope was lost.
     They are now calling her a 'medical miracle'.
     Last weekend Thomas' heart stopped.
     Her son says she probably went close to 20 minutes without oxygen or a pulse.
     Finally revived, she was rushed to the hospital where doctors, in
an attempt to save her, induced hypothermia to cool her core body temperature.
     Even after the risky procedure her heart stopped again.
     It then stopped a third time, making recovery extremely unlikely.
     Her family says at one point her hands were hardening and her toes were curling back, signs that death had set in.
     With hope of bringing her back down to under 10%, devastated family members turned to their faith, praying for a miracle.
     And then it came.
     ABC 6 anchor Allison Alexander has the details...

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