Cheating Death

Sanjay Gupta

A 12-week old unborn baby with a fatal heart defect; a skier drowned for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake; a comatose brain surgery victim; a teenager with 4 rapidly expanding brain tumors. Prognosis? 20 years ago all would have been left for dead, with no hope for survival. However, incredible new advances in human survival have now changed that and each of these would-be fatalities is not only alive but leading a healthy, productive life today. This book chronicles the emerging science behind these medical miracles, made possible by a new breed of doctors who refuse to accept that any life is "lost" and the almost daily scientific breakthroughs in the field. Drawing on the case files in the rapidly evolving science of survival and his unprecedented access to breaking news in this field from around the globe, Dr. Gupta explains the latest technological developments that are changing our understanding of the human body's own survival capabilities and our definition of the very boundaries of the beginning and end of human life. Dr. Gupta not only shares these deeply personal stories of triumph but insights into the remarkable discoveries that are making them possible.