Dead Woman Wakes.
Article wrote:
An employee of the State Anatomy Board got a shock when he went to transport the body of an elderly Severna Park woman whom county police found "dead" inside her bathroom. The woman, who lay on the floor for three hours on Oct. 1 while officers notified her family, physician and medical examiner of her death, was in fact alive.
Officer Christopher Brown and Sgt. Randy Bell went to the home of Ruth Shillinglaw Johnson, 89, in the Colchester on the Severn neighborhood at 4:07 p.m. to check on her well-being. "We hadn't seen her for four or five days," said Stacie Zarriello, who lives across the street. "She wasn't answering the door or the phone. We checked her mailbox and it was full. The newspapers were piling up."
The officers found an unlocked side door to Johnson's home and went inside. They searched the first floor, but found nothing. Brown began checking the upstairs bedrooms when he noticed an odor "similar to a decomposition smell," according to the police report.
The officers walked through the master bedroom and opened a bathroom door. There, they found Johnson motionless on the bathroom floor. Her skin was blue and she was not breathing, the report says. The officers' experience led them to believe Johnson had been dead for a couple of days.
Thinking Johnson was clearly deceased, the officers did not check for a pulse. They labeled the call an "unattended death" and contacted Johnson's adult son, who lives in Utah. He told police his mother suffered from medical problems. Brown and Bell then called Johnson's primary care physician, who verified Johnson suffered from illnesses, the nature of which police did not disclose. The physician told police she would sign off on Johnson's death certificate. The officers then spoke with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. Given the information, the medical examiner decided not to respond to Johnson's home.
Police learned from Johnson's son that his mother had made arrangements with the State Anatomy Board to donate her body for science, the report says. The board was contacted and said they'd have a transport team come to the home. Charles Morgan, an employee of the anatomy board, arrived at Johnson's home around 7:10 p.m. - three hours after Johnson was found, seemingly lifeless, on her bathroom floor.
He went upstairs and entered the bathroom. He was preparing to take Johnson's body away when he heard her take a deep breath and saw her move her arm. Morgan ran out of the bedroom and yelled for the officers. Brown rushed to the bathroom and saw Johnson take another deep breath and move her arm a second time. "I shouted, 'Ruth!' and she responded with 'Arrgghh,' " Brown wrote in the report.
Brown asked Johnson how long she'd been lying on the floor. Johnson told him she wasn't on the floor. He asked her where she was and she responded, "... on the sofa."
Paramedics were immediately called to the home. Johnson was taken in critical condition to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, said Division Chief Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman.
She was conscious and breathing on the way, police said. It is unknown what caused Johnson to collapse or how long she had been on the bathroom floor. Hospital officials said Johnson was discharged on Wednesday. Neighbors said she has been moved to a hospice. Medical privacy laws kept local hospices from confirming or denying that Johnson is a patient, preventing The Capital from locating Johnson for comment.
Zarriello said the incident was the talk of the Colchester on the Severn community. She and other neighbors had stood outside Johnson's home on Oct. 1 when police first arrived to check on her.
"He went in and came out and said she was deceased," she said.
Though sad about the news, Zarriello took her daughter to play in a field hockey game. After the game, the Zarriello family sat down for dinner. They were eating when they saw the State Anatomy Board van pull in front of Johnson's home. She said an anatomy board employee came outside and told neighbors Johnson was alive. Neighbors were shocked.
"He (the board employee) said he'd never seen anything like this before," Zarriello said.
The police report indicates that the two officers who responded to Johnson's home did not check for a pulse when they found her. By all accounts, Johnson appeared deceased, the report says. The Capital is not disclosing all of the details that led police to make this determination. The officers, Bell and Brown, have been with the department since 1989 and 2004, respectively.
Lt. Frank Tewey, a police spokesman, said the department is aware of the incident.
"It is currently under administrative review to ensure that proper procedures were followed," he said.
Officer Christopher Brown and Sgt. Randy Bell went to the home of Ruth Shillinglaw Johnson, 89, in the Colchester on the Severn neighborhood at 4:07 p.m. to check on her well-being. "We hadn't seen her for four or five days," said Stacie Zarriello, who lives across the street. "She wasn't answering the door or the phone. We checked her mailbox and it was full. The newspapers were piling up."
The officers found an unlocked side door to Johnson's home and went inside. They searched the first floor, but found nothing. Brown began checking the upstairs bedrooms when he noticed an odor "similar to a decomposition smell," according to the police report.
The officers walked through the master bedroom and opened a bathroom door. There, they found Johnson motionless on the bathroom floor. Her skin was blue and she was not breathing, the report says. The officers' experience led them to believe Johnson had been dead for a couple of days.
Thinking Johnson was clearly deceased, the officers did not check for a pulse. They labeled the call an "unattended death" and contacted Johnson's adult son, who lives in Utah. He told police his mother suffered from medical problems. Brown and Bell then called Johnson's primary care physician, who verified Johnson suffered from illnesses, the nature of which police did not disclose. The physician told police she would sign off on Johnson's death certificate. The officers then spoke with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. Given the information, the medical examiner decided not to respond to Johnson's home.
Police learned from Johnson's son that his mother had made arrangements with the State Anatomy Board to donate her body for science, the report says. The board was contacted and said they'd have a transport team come to the home. Charles Morgan, an employee of the anatomy board, arrived at Johnson's home around 7:10 p.m. - three hours after Johnson was found, seemingly lifeless, on her bathroom floor.
He went upstairs and entered the bathroom. He was preparing to take Johnson's body away when he heard her take a deep breath and saw her move her arm. Morgan ran out of the bedroom and yelled for the officers. Brown rushed to the bathroom and saw Johnson take another deep breath and move her arm a second time. "I shouted, 'Ruth!' and she responded with 'Arrgghh,' " Brown wrote in the report.
Brown asked Johnson how long she'd been lying on the floor. Johnson told him she wasn't on the floor. He asked her where she was and she responded, "... on the sofa."
Paramedics were immediately called to the home. Johnson was taken in critical condition to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, said Division Chief Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman.
She was conscious and breathing on the way, police said. It is unknown what caused Johnson to collapse or how long she had been on the bathroom floor. Hospital officials said Johnson was discharged on Wednesday. Neighbors said she has been moved to a hospice. Medical privacy laws kept local hospices from confirming or denying that Johnson is a patient, preventing The Capital from locating Johnson for comment.
Zarriello said the incident was the talk of the Colchester on the Severn community. She and other neighbors had stood outside Johnson's home on Oct. 1 when police first arrived to check on her.
"He went in and came out and said she was deceased," she said.
Though sad about the news, Zarriello took her daughter to play in a field hockey game. After the game, the Zarriello family sat down for dinner. They were eating when they saw the State Anatomy Board van pull in front of Johnson's home. She said an anatomy board employee came outside and told neighbors Johnson was alive. Neighbors were shocked.
"He (the board employee) said he'd never seen anything like this before," Zarriello said.
The police report indicates that the two officers who responded to Johnson's home did not check for a pulse when they found her. By all accounts, Johnson appeared deceased, the report says. The Capital is not disclosing all of the details that led police to make this determination. The officers, Bell and Brown, have been with the department since 1989 and 2004, respectively.
Lt. Frank Tewey, a police spokesman, said the department is aware of the incident.
"It is currently under administrative review to ensure that proper procedures were followed," he said.
Board up your windows, sharped your axes, & load your boomsticks lest you become one of them. Remember, aim for the head. It's the only way to be sure.
Edited, Oct 18th 2010 1:26am by Omegavegeta
I'm going to have to see if Brookstone still has rechargeable wand massager like it. 