November 25, 2007

November 25 | Elaine Esposito

December 3, 1934 - November 25, 1978: Age 43

Elaine Esposito was 6 years old when she was anesthetized for a routine appendectomy in 1941. Somehow her brain was damaged at the time of the operation. Some doctors felt she had incipient encephalitis at the time of the operation; others felt that she had not received enough oxygen during the operation.

Whatever the cause, she never regained consciousness, but lived on in a coma for 37 years. During this time she was sometimes deeply asleep, and at other times in a state of open-eyed unconsciousness. She died finally at the age of 43 in 1978.

Sources: Wikipedia, Ethics of Withdrawal of Life Support Systems

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What hospital or center was Elaine Esposito at?

franca said...

I don't know what hospital she was at, but her original operation was in Chicago.

amelie said...

Hey, I just wondered if there was anything you knew about Elaine Esposito's childhood before she went into the coma.

franca said...

The only additional pieces of information I have been able to find are that her dad's name was Louis, and the family lived in Florida.

Anonymous said...

Her death is bittersweet. It was a blessing. Her passing is on the very day our family friend and/or churchmates got married in Colorado.

Anonymous said...

Her passing is a blessing and is bittersweet.

Anonymous said...

Her passing is really bittersweet. Her death came 27 years to the day before the County Mall fire in Moffat County!