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>> How long have I been gone?
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>> Quite a while, Phil.
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>> On a brutally cold December morning in
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a 34-year-old firefighter from Buffalo,
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New York, kissed his wife goodbye and
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>> Within hours, everything changed. A
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tragic accident would leave him unable
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to truly speak with his family for
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What happened to Donald Herbert became
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one of the most emotional and medically
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extraordinary stories of modern history.
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A case that challenged what doctors
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believed about the injured brain and
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touched millions around the world.
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Donald Herbert grew up in South Buffalo.
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Before becoming a firefighter, he worked
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as a machinist, but he knew he wanted
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something more meaningful.
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In 1986, after completing the fire
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academy, he proudly joined the Buffalo
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Fire Department. He loved the job.
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Fellow firefighters said Don always ran
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into burning buildings while others were
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running out. In 1990, he rescued two
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adults and two children from a burning
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apartment, earning [music] multiple
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More importantly, he was a devoted
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husband to Linda and father of four
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boys, Donald Jr., Thomas, Patrick,
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[music] and Nicholas.
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He loved camping, fishing, hunting, and
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spending every possible moment with his
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Then came December 29th, 1995.
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After responding to a fatal highway
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accident the previous night, Don's crew
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was called early that morning to a house
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fire on Buffalo's East Side.
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As always, Don entered the burning home
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searching for survivors.
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Inside the attic, disaster [music]
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The snow-covered roof suddenly
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collapsed, crushing his oxygen mask and
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trapping him beneath the debris.
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His brain was deprived of oxygen for an
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estimated 6 to 12 minutes before fellow
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firefighters rescued him. He suffered
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cardiac arrest on the way to the
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hospital and was placed on life support.
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Doctors diagnosed a severe anoxic brain
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injury caused by prolonged oxygen
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He was also left virtually blind. His
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sons were only 14, 13, 11, and 3 years
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After more than 2 months in a coma, Don
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briefly regained consciousness.
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He struggled with speech and vision, but
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worked hard in rehabilitation giving his
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That hope slowly faded.
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Over the next 2 years, his condition
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worsened until he entered a minimally
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He could no longer communicate with his
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wife or children in any meaningful way.
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One neurologist gave Linda an answer she
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Looking at Don, he simply said,
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"Look at him. What do you see?
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There's nothing there."
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Linda refused to believe it. Don was
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moved to Father Baker Manor Nursing Home
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where she continued searching for
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treatment, reading everything she could
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about brain injuries, trying new
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therapies, and refusing to give up.
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Year after year, their sons grew into
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young men while their father remained
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silent. Every visit ended the same way.
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Nearly 10 years passed. Then, in early
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2005, Don's physician, Dr. Jamil Ahmed,
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decided to try an experimental
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combination of medications normally used
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for Parkinson's disease, ADHD, and
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The drugs were designed to stimulate
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brain neurotransmitters such as
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dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
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No one expected what happened next.
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On April 30th, 2005, Don suddenly looked
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around and asked for his wife.
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It was the first meaningful conversation
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he had held in almost 10 years.
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His family rushed to the nursing home.
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One by one, Don recognized everyone by
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their voices. He remembered fellow
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firefighters. He remembered details from
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his career. He even asked for specific
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But when his youngest son Nicholas
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spoke, Don became confused. "That can't
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be," he said. "He's just a baby."
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Nicholas had been only 3 years old when
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Don was injured. Now he was nearly 15.
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Don reached out expecting to touch a
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small child. Instead, his family gently
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lifted his hand higher to show him how
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much Nicholas had grown.
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Then Don asked the question that
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shattered everyone in the room.
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"How long have I been gone?"
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He believed only a few months had
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passed. When his family told him the
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truth that nearly 10 years had gone by,
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Don broke down [music] in tears.
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He felt he had abandoned his wife and
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missed his sons growing up.
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For the next 16 hours, he talked almost
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The family laughed, cried, shared
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memories, introduced new family members,
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and caught him up on nearly a decade of
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Linda later called it an incredible
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gift. For the first time, she knew her
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husband had never forgotten them. A week
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later, the family celebrated Don's
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birthday together. Despite being blind
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and confined to a wheelchair, he sat
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outside throwing a football with his
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sons. For a brief moment, life felt
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But the miracle didn't last. Don never
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again reached the same level of
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Weeks later, he fell from his bed,
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suffered another brain injury, and
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doctors believed the setback prevented
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the medications from continuing to work.
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His condition gradually declined once
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Still, he continued sharing small
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moments with his family until early 2006
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when he developed severe pneumonia.
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Surrounded by Linda and all four of his
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sons, Donald Herbert passed away on
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February 21st, 2006 at the age of 44.
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Thousands attended his funeral.
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Firefighters lined the streets in salute
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as rescue one, the same truck Don had
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proudly served on, led him home one
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His legacy continued through his
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children. Two of his sons became Buffalo
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firefighters. The other two became
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Buffalo police officers. One son was
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even assigned to rescue one following in
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the [music] exact footsteps of the
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father who had sacrificed everything in
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Patrick later said, "We pretty much
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wouldn't be where we're at without him.
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I'm sure he's more than pleased looking
