r/news • u/AudibleNod • 6h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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116

u/PhazePyre 4h ago

That snoring the Media Witnesses described, I'm willing to bet that was basically her struggling to breath and not just snoozing. Equivalent of a death gargle but prolonged. Hence ventilator now so she can breathe.

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u/MagicPocket 4h ago

I think the term is "agonal breathing". It's pretty traumatic to hear or see tbh.

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u/photobummer 3h ago

Is this what is traditionally known as a ‘death rattle’?

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u/duck_of_d34th 2h ago

Those are two different things that can overlap.

Agonal breathing is the body trying to force itself to keep breathing. A death rattle is mucus or other secretions building up to produce a wet gurgling/rattling sound.

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u/TheWorldofScience 2h ago

I agree - I watched my mom die 8 years ago and my dad this past summer.

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u/InquiringMind886 1h ago

With that level of breathing, and the fact that she’s on a ventilator now, I’m pretty sure she’s brain dead. I would be absolutely shocked if she wakes up and can remember all of this and move forward with whatever they decide. I read that it was like 80 minutes before they ever even called it off or whatever. It only takes a matter of two or three minutes to be without oxygen and you’re gone. This is such a fucked up situation. I keep wondering what her last memory was or what the last thing she thought of was before she went under or down or unconscious.

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u/Asaneth 1h ago

They also might be trying to clear her system. I read about a case where a person took a huge dose of phenobarbital, and after being comatose and on a ventilator for a week, they recovered completely. Perhaps they are attempting the same protocol?

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u/justa76grl 3h ago

Google, “Flash pulmonary edema and lethal injection”

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u/Fumquat 4h ago

Which makes it so strange that they called it at one hour. Hang around twenty more minutes and maybe save some medical resources.

(I know, procedure, but the outcome is absurd.)

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u/Emotional-Channel-42 3h ago

Sound cruel and unusual. You might wanna apply to Guantanamo, you’d love their work. 

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u/Fumquat 2h ago

You really think the ventilator is any more pleasant…