Despite being declared brain dead by four doctors, a car crash victim has made a miracle recovery after his parents begged for a second opinion before his life support was due to be switched off, BBC News reports.
Four years ago, Steven Thorpe from Warwickshire, England, was involved in a horrific car accident that killed one of his friends.
Thorpe, who was just 17 at the time, suffered near-fatal injuries to his head and was rushed to University Hospital in Coventry for emergency surgery, the Sun reports.
When a craniotomy failed to improve Thorpe's condition, doctors told his family that they did not expect him to recover.
"The injury to Steven’s brain was extremely critical and several CT scans of the head showed almost irreversible damage," said a recent statement released by the hospital.
The situation was so dire that Thorpe's doctors -- who put the teenager in a chemically-induced coma -- even told his parents to consider donating his organs.
"I think the doctors wanted to give me three days on the life support machine and the following day they said they wanted to turn it off," Thorpe told the Sun.
But his father refused to give up and begged the hospital to save his son.
With little hope left, Thorpe's father approached private doctor Julia Piper for help, the Sun reports.
Piper discovered something astounding: Faint brain waves, that indicated a slim chance of recovery, were detected, the Daily Mail reports.
The hospital finally agreed to bring the teenager out of his coma to see if he could survive on his own.
Incredibly, Thorpe not only survived but has since made an astounding recovery. He was released from the hospital only seven weeks later.
"Although Steven did have catastrophic injuries and there may be long-term damage from that, [we thought that] at the age of 17…he might be robust enough to do quite well," explained Piper.
Today, 21-year-old Thorpe says he is grateful to just be alive.
Currently studying to be an accountant at a college in Coventry, Thorpe -- who has undergone four surgeries to reconstruct his face and whose arm is still in a sling -- said he is trying to live as fully as he can.
"I don't think my outlook's changed. I'm a very driven person. I'm living to succeed in life," he told the BBC.
"Hopefully (my experience) can help people see that you should never give up. My father believed I was alive -- and he was correct," Thorpe said.
Watch the BBC report below:
Steven Thorpe: Teenager declared brain-dead by FOUR doctors ...
British teen comes alive after being brain dead
Loading comments… 
Posted: 04/24/2012 8:55 pm Updated: 04/26/2012 4:03 am