The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up: A True Story

The very idea that someone could wake up from a Rip Van Winkle like coma is amazing enough, but that the family could converse with him was astounding. I was left wanting to know a little more about Donny's eventual death and the effect of the waking on his family, but I suppose that story is still waiting to unfold. Donny's story should make us think about the kind of care we render to minimally conscious and comatose patients. I preached about this story one Father's Day.

As a firefighter this book hit close to home. Also, the fact that I am a member of a fire department who unfortunately shared a similar case in which a firefighter was comatose for 13 years made this book extremely interesting. If you, or someone you know is a firefighter, buy this book. It it an easy, quick read yet it makes a person realize just how fragile life is. It also brings back memories of fires I have fought where just such an accident could have happened to me or my fellow firefighters. If you happen to be Catholic, the story is even more interesting. I highly recommend it.

In 1995, 34 year old Buffalo firefighter, Donny Herbert was trapped under a collapsed roof in a burning house and deprived of oxygen for six minutes; he suffered severe anoxic brain injury and lapsed into a coma with occasional semi responsive moments. His wife, Linda, and their four young sons prayed diligently and reached out to their Catholic community, and over the years tried different forms of rehab for Donny, including intensive physical and speech therapy in addition to new drugs cocktails. However, he remained more or less unchanged, and the doctors seemed to give up hope and predicted a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Not giving up or taking no for an answer, Linda took him to Dr. Jamil Ahmed, who experimented with Donny's medications, and on a what appeared to be a typical day in 2005, Donny simply started talking again. At first nobody believed the call from Donny's sister in law since she was the family practical jokester but the family quickly ran to Donny's rehab center and for a few days Donny caught up on nine years of family history, including re-meeting his young son who he could not believe was the baby that he remembered; the talking eventually subsided, and the family had very little time left with Donny. It is impossible not to tie Donny's recovery to divine intervention since faith and the story of Father Nelson Baker are such crucial parts of the whole story. This is a truly remarkable account that has you turning pages way into the night and gives you hope that true miracles can and do happen.

The well written and compelling book was released shortly after CBS's 60 Minutes aired a feature about minimally conscious patients and how medication might help in some cases. 60 Minutes showed footage of Herbert in his awakened state conversing with his family, which was amazing to see and very touching. Blake is a cousin of Herbert's wife, Linda, and his intimate knowledge of Herbert's case is obvious throughout his affectionate narrative which describes how the Herbert family struggled with Herbert's traumatic injury, rejoiced with his astonishing recovery, and mourned with his eventual loss. Because there was speculation in the Buffalo region about how Herbert's recovery might prove to be the miracle to beatify Father Nelson H. Baker, a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic church, Blake weaves a subplot about Baker's history and his cause for canonization throughout the book. Blake treats the possibility of a miracle causing Herbert's recovery in an even-handed manner, refrains from any speculation and reports the family's point of view on the matter. Linda did believe God was at work. However, she chose not to "go out on a limb" and claim that her husband's recovery was the work of Father Baker's intercession. In addition, the diocese of Buffalo deemed Herbert's recovery to have too many other possible causes to pass muster in Rome. Blake writes, "Whether it was Dr. Ahmed's drug cocktail, the intercession of Father Baker, an act of God himself, or a combination of all three, Linda tends to credit Donny." Blake's touching narrative of a story that captured the nation's attention in 2005 is a good read, and it will probably sell well and have the secondary effect of introducing Father Baker and his cause for canonization to those outside of the Buffalo region.

It is curious how a book can be "sadly uplifting" and as Exhibit "A" I give you "The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up." The book is the true story of Donny Herbert, a 34 year old Buffalo firefighter who in 1995 while fighting a fire on the City's east side was trapped under a collapsed roof in a burning house in 1995 and deprived of oxygen for six minutes Donny Herbert suffered severe anoxic brain injury. Herbert then lapsed into a long, largely unresponsive, nonspeaking state. Nearly ten years later, Donny Herbert "woke up" and started talking again. Rich Blake tells the story of Donny Herbert - from his days growing up on the streets of South Buffalo through meeting his wife, Linda, to the birth of his 4 children and on through that fateful day in 1995. Blake also tells the story of Donny's wife Linda trying to hold the family together for the ten years Donny was battling his brain injury. What emerges from the narrative is the strength and perseverance of the entire Herbert family - Donny's will to come back to his wife and children; Linda's will to hold the family together and refusal to give up on Donny; the Herbert children for endeavoring to lead normal and productive lives without Donny. In telling the story of Donny Herbert, Blake also tells the story of Father Nelson Baker, a Roman Catholic priest who died in 1936 who has been linked to a number of miracles in the area. Herbert's connections to Father Baker include (1) he attended Baker-Victory High School; (2) at the time Herbert "woke up" he was in a care facility named after Father Baker; and (3) After he woke up, he told Father Joseph Moreno, a Buffalo Police chaplain that he saw Father Baker. Linda attributes Donny's recovery to Donny himself, man with the strength to will himself back into his family's lives. Blake is a bit more open to the idea that, perhaps it was the intercession of Father Baker which allowed Donny to come back to his wife and children. Whatever the reader's inclination may be, there is no denying that this book will tug at the reader's heart strings. It made me appreciate the importance of life and family.