Anne Heche in critical condition following fiery car crash, 5 August 2022

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OK, really stupid question as I obviously don't know much about these things. Also, a warning this may be a bit morbid. I apologize for that but I'm truly curious about this one fact. :(

What now if they determine there are organ(s) that they can take for donation? I realize her brain is dead, and according to CA law, she's legally dead. But her heart is still beating. Do they wait for that to stop on its own before taking any organs? Or do they take the organs and the heart will likely stop beating at that point? Or do they manually stop it first? TIA
They harvest the organs and then take the person off life support and let them cross over.

Amateur opinion an speculation
 
There are a whole series of clinical tests that need to be performed by doctors before they can determine if brain stem death has happened.
A coma doesn't mean death. Many people have come out of comas. Also remember that many comas are medically induced to assist intubation and ventilation.

Coma and brain stem death are 2 completely different things.
No doc, just a retired RN. That said, She was subjected to burns, smoke and oxygen deprivation... etc. I'm also rather sure she went into shock shortly after they picked her up. She was combative possibly due to pain and as well as significant respiratory distress.

It's horrific and tragic what happened to her. I do realize she had mental health problems. But a lot of this, IMO, was a result of her being stressed out due to legal battles with her Ex. Tragic.
Edited : Moderating myself. Sorry.
 
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While I don’t agree with posting vile comments, I do understand some of the frustration people have in these circumstances, and it’s often related, in my book, to the fact that people DO UNDERSTAND the how hard life can be. They just either have themselves, or know others, who’ve experienced incredibly hard knocks and “kept on keeping on”, so to speak, focusing on contributing positively to their own and others’ lives, rather than turning to drugs, addiction, etc.

In a culture where it seems to be almost “in” to publicly tout one’s “mental health struggles”, to one where drug use is widely accepted and common, it seems to some that those things become an easy alternative to keeping one’s head down and walking the straight and narrow.

This is not a popular opinion, I know.

I think that just proves those people don't understand. If they did, it wouldn't be so simple as it didn't happen to me so it shouldn't happen to you. Addiction truly is a disease and certain people are more vulnerable to it than others. The ones bashing on her, especially now that she paid the ultimate price, are really not cool.
 
I'm with you on this. It's kinda like the 401K opt-out rules. You are now automatically enrolled into something that's in your best interest (to save for retirement). If you don't want to, or can't afford to, you simply opt out, but it's done in your best interest to auto opt you in. At least it makes those new to the workplace aware of 401K plans and make a conscience effort to figure out what's best for them.

As for donor opt-out or you're in... it's for the best interest for all those waiting for a donation so they can live. I find that a lot of people just don't pay a lot of attention to details (my personal experience from decades of being in the workplace so no link. lol). So having them opt out if they don't want to leads to more donations and more lives saved than opting in. I think that's a good thing. If you don't want to, by all means... opt out.

I generally agree, but you do have to consider people's personal religious beliefs and practices. They must be respected, whatever they are, even if they're not for the general good of others. That's just a thing about being on earth with all kinds of different human beings, those differences cannot be forcibly ignored just because we think they should be. I am religious and I would personally donate all my internal organs, but I know some others in my religion who would not. And I accept that.
 
Perhaps a MD can give some insight.
The family said that brain death was due to anoxia.

From the helicopter video of the crash, Heche was not unconscious as she was being put into the ambulance.
I'm sure everyone here saw her impulsively sit up in the stretcher before being loaded in.
So, she was not sufficiently anoxic at that time to be unconscious.

So, what happened after?
I can imagine she might have been overwhelmed with infection, inflammation, or other things. Compounded by the ketamine-induced coma that I think I read about. But I do not know.

Does any MD here have thoughts? Thanks!

There's really no way to know. There's a whole slew of things that could have happened. She could have gone into cardiac arrest and been resuscitated too late. She could have had a stroke. She could have had catastrophic lung injuries and wasn't intubated in time. If I had to take a wild guess, I would guess cardiac arrest at some point over the past 7 days. The accident, the burns, and the cocaine can all trigger cardiac events (not to mention blood clots).
 
@jbc I'm not an MD but worked in a health care setting. An anoxic brain injury causes death of brain cells. This causes intercranial swelling which can lead to brain stem herniation. The brain stem is part of the central nervous system that controls vital body functions such as blood pressure regulation, respirations, heart rate, etc.

An early sign of brain injury can be combativeness or agitation which is what we might be seeing with Anne on the stretcher. Her brain is injured from lack of oxygen but swelling is yet to occur. As the swelling progresses, the patient becomes unresponsive and requires life support.

MOO a very simplified explanation of a very complicated event.

Just want to clarify because this isn't entirely accurate. Yes, a symptom of brain injury can be combativeness, but not like this. I suspect her combativeness was, to use layman's term, the result of shock. In other words, the body is reacting to catastrophic stress, which triggers a release of hormones that floods our body. This is why sometimes gunshot victims don't know they've been shot right away. But once the brain is injured from lack of oxygen, it doesn't bounce back. That part of the brain dies. It is possible to not be brain dead, but just have anoxic brain injury, meaning just a part of your brain was affected and you're likely handicapped (think Terri Schiavo from the early 2000s). But if you're brain dead, that's it. The brain controls all other organs. Once the brain is gone, you're dead.

Brain herniation likely has nothing to do with this case. Think brain herniation when someone has an aneurysm or brain swelling for any reason. There doesn't have to be an anoxic injury.
 
I think it should be opt-in as well.

I also think it should be mandatory that educational information be provided that explains the different ways that organs, tissue, and body parts can be used. “Transplantation, therapy, research and education” covers a great deal of usages for donated bodies.

I realize that many people believe that donating the body of a loved one means only transplanting lifesaving organs. In some cases, that is exactly what happens. But there are other uses as well, and some might want to indicate the ways that their body or the body of a loved one can be used when donated.

JMO

What are the “others uses”?
 
Perhaps a MD can give some insight.
The family said that brain death was due to anoxia.

From the helicopter video of the crash, Heche was not unconscious as she was being put into the ambulance.
I'm sure everyone here saw her impulsively sit up in the stretcher before being loaded in.
So, she was not sufficiently anoxic at that time to be unconscious.

So, what happened after?
I can imagine she might have been overwhelmed with infection, inflammation, or other things. Compounded by the ketamine-induced coma that I think I read about. But I do not know.

Does any MD here have thoughts? Thanks!

My next concern is AH survived the crash and survived the fire but the time it took to extract her may have killed her.

The firies expected AH to be surely dead and ’thought’ it was a recovery.

But she was alive!

Did the firies ‘take too much time?’
Did the time they took to retrieve her body, detriment her life?

They should never have assumed. :(
 
A lot of people go through a tough life and keep on keeping on but mental heal issues are significantly different that just having a hard life.

I could explain to you some of the difference in various mental illness and the side effects of the medications that make their lives even more challenging but if it's not something you actually witnessed or experienced, it's not easy to understand the difference.

I wonder why it is so easy to accept that the woman who's home was destroyed may have the rest of her life to deal with the effects of PTSD but it's not unreasonable to believe that someone how was sexually assaulted from a very young age should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and keep on keeping on.
And yet, there are people who have done just that. I don’t need an “explanation as to the difference in various mental illness and the side effects of the medications that make their lives even more challenging”. I’ve witnessed much in my life -and experienced much, frankly.

I’m well aware of PTSD and all kinds of mental illnesses. I just see the world differently than you. OF COURSE I have empathy for people who have experienced sexual abuse from a young age. I KNOW THEM PERSONALLY. They didn’t all become drug addicts, however.

Again, I’m not ignorant, nor do I lack compassion. I just view the world, and humanity, differently than you. I have a different point of view.
 
My next concern is AH survived the crash and survived the fire but the time it took to extract her may have killed her.

The firies expected AH to be surely dead and ’thought’ it was a recovery.

But she was alive!

Did the firies ‘take too much time?’
Did the time they took to retrieve her body, detriment her life?

They should never have assumed. :(
In my amateur opinion, she didn’t have a chance. The fiery and caustic fumes combined with the impact did enough damage even prior to rescue arriving. IMO it is a mercy that she is passing over, free from pain and anguish. Had she somehow survived, it would have been a torturous existence with the extent of her injuries.
Let this little bird fly….

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
Did the resident of the damaged home also have smoke inhalation injuries from the fire? I hope the neighbor doesn’t have guilt that he wasn’t able to free Anne from the vehicle. He was a hero for even attempting.
I believe from earlier articles, the resident of the damaged home happened to be in the backyard when Anne crashed into her house, so she did not sustain any injuries. Her pets were in the house but were rescued by a neighbor or maybe fire department? Can’t remember that part.
 
In my amateur opinion, she didn’t have a chance. The fiery and caustic fumes combined with the impact did enough damage even prior to rescue arriving. IMO it is a mercy that she is passing over, free from pain and anguish. Had she somehow survived, it would have been a torturous existence with the extent of her injuries.
Let this little bird fly….

Amateur opinion and speculation
IMO, I agree, a wall impact at 90mph surely would have done some damage to her body maybe equal damage as the fire. I wouldn't know how one would start to evaluate. They might have had to take care of any internal damage so that they could have her well enough to take care of the burns, or vice versa, which maybe accelerated the brain injuries. Regardless the doctors, nurses, staff had there hands full and glad they did what they could, may she rest in peace.
 
This is just tragic in so many ways.

Tragic for the woman whose home was destroyed and survived a very traumatic event (and the property owner too).
Tragic for Anne’s sons and loved ones who have lost her, and lost her in this manner.
Tragic for Anne who paid a high price, even as she was fully culpable for the incident.

Some days the world just feels heavy
 
I believe from earlier articles, the resident of the damaged home happened to be in the backyard when Anne crashed into her house, so she did not sustain any injuries. Her pets were in the house but were rescued by a neighbor or maybe fire department? Can’t remember that part.

She did sustain some injuries, but it wasn't detailed what. I have no link. So...JMO.
 
Just now saw the news. Wow. I really thought she would survive, have a long recovery period, and it would be months of debate about accountability for her actions. The financials of damages rendered will still need to be sorted out, but Anne has paid the ultimate price.

Wishing peace and comfort to the fire and medical staff who assisted, the resident and owner of the destroyed home, and especially to Anne’s family.
 
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