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Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

independent.co.uk

71–80 of 81 posts

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#71

Did anyone else catch the doctor mentioning that the boy recently asked for a mojito? It's a bit surprising that a 14 year old would ask for alcohol in a country where the drinking age is 18. But hey, it's Italy, perhaps there significantly more relaxed about kids drinking than Americans like me!

A mojito!? How dare that kid. Next thing we know, teenagers who return to life after death will be asking for a line of coke and a couple strippers. What is wrong with the world??

His dad is Berlusconi's doctor. He'd probably already been offered those.

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

having been in the water below a dam its amazing just how cold it can be. The best part is, watching a friend drop an expensive knife in less than four feet of water and unable to retrieve it cause of the cold. Fortunately a few young kids came wading down the same river in this water and when they asked my friend what was wrong he pointed to the knife and the one kid simply went under and got it. and to my point, pe…

Having watched my kids grow up while observing this effect, I've come to the conclusion that kids' nervous systems aren't as sensitive as adults. That, or they are just brain damaged. :) Ignorance is an interesting question. Does it not bother them because they haven't been conditioned that it bothers them? It makes me think of pain. The anxiety of anticipating pain and of what experiencing the pain will be like is o…

Ha, just yesterday I went in the pool with my 3 year old. I was freezing and cursing (not in front of him of course) and he was as happy and active as on any summer pool day (I'm in the southern hemisphere).

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And for those who don't regularly swim in open water, that's f *g cold.

having been in the water below a dam its amazing just how cold it can be. The best part is, watching a friend drop an expensive knife in less than four feet of water and unable to retrieve it cause of the cold. Fortunately a few young kids came wading down the same river in this water and when they asked my friend what was wrong he pointed to the knife and the one kid simply went under and got it. and to my point, pe…

You get used to it really quickly, in my experience. Swimming in cold sea/lakes on holiday (in Greece of all places) the fifth/tenth or so time was way more bearable than the first.

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

having been in the water below a dam its amazing just how cold it can be. The best part is, watching a friend drop an expensive knife in less than four feet of water and unable to retrieve it cause of the cold. Fortunately a few young kids came wading down the same river in this water and when they asked my friend what was wrong he pointed to the knife and the one kid simply went under and got it. and to my point, pe…

Having watched my kids grow up while observing this effect, I've come to the conclusion that kids' nervous systems aren't as sensitive as adults. That, or they are just brain damaged. :) Ignorance is an interesting question. Does it not bother them because they haven't been conditioned that it bothers them? It makes me think of pain. The anxiety of anticipating pain and of what experiencing the pain will be like is o…

I thought about this about falling. Kids do fall all the time, but instead of anticipating failure, they go all in for "success" (whatever success can be for a kid). More momentum is created, diffusing energy in a smoother way. The mindset shutting down the brain for the "negative" aspects of the situation, because it came from a desire not from fear.

I have similar thoughts when playing music, whenever I get a nice sound, I don't feel pain or exhaustion, but every time I fail it suddenly become tiresome.

The brain as an amplifier ?

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#75

Did anyone else catch the doctor mentioning that the boy recently asked for a mojito? It's a bit surprising that a 14 year old would ask for alcohol in a country where the drinking age is 18. But hey, it's Italy, perhaps there significantly more relaxed about kids drinking than Americans like me!

We don't have a drinking age in Italy. If we do, I've never seen it enforced in my life. :)

Another case of useless law creating more problems than they solve.

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#76
post #54

It seems that the cold water also contributed to his survival. He only had to lose a lower leg, no brain damage. This is always the question: very nice you are able to survive x y or z, but in what condition do you get out of it: like a vegetable or like a human being?

Wasn't this also a factor: "The team also used a technique called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to extract oxygen-deprived blood, warm it up and add oxygen, before pumping it back into the body, The Times reported. After 10 days of using the technique, which mimics the function of the heart, while Michael was in an induced coma, he survived."

Sure, but it's the fact that he was rapidly cooled in the first place that made ECMO an option at all.

You can't just take someone who has been dead for 40 minutes and slap 'em on an ECMO machine...

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#78
post #55

Why is there a picture of some random dude with the caption "the teenager jumped off a bridge in Milan"? I'm assuming he didn't also age 30 years in the process.

I take it the image is of the doctor.

What I found most disturbing is that this doctor looks like Deepak Chopra.

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#79
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no love for the Justice League loser?

Simple jokes are almost always voted down. Even when they're funny, they're not the target tone of the site. It's not personal, it's just an editorial and community-direction choice.

fair enough, that's been my experience

Re: Italian boy survives being trapped underwater for 42 minutes

#80
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fascinating, could you point me somewhere I can read more? I'd always assumed something in the cells was decaying without oxygen preventing them from functioning again. Is it some sort of reaction byproduct that normally is part of a chain but the lack of oxygen breaks the chain and makes some other reaction occur?

This reminds me of a medical technique that was going into trials I read about on HN last year, I can't find the conversation link but this article in the nytimes is speaking to the same topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/health/a-chilling-medical-...

Ahh, Suspended Animation.
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