Legacy MattersZach Dunlap, 21, was gravely injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident and suffered severe head injuries. His family and his small community in Oklahoma began praying for him.
The doctors told the family that Zach would not survive. After no brain activity could be found, Zach was declared dead. The family agreed to the donation of his organs and as a nurse was preparing him for organ donation, Zach moved his arm, then his foot. When a pocketknife was scrapped across his foot, he reacted. The organ harvest stopped.
After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home. Yesterday, he was on the Today show
Man declared dead feels pretty good
Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash. "I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened.
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Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead. "I'm glad I couldn't get up and do what I wanted to do," he said.
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Zach's mother, Pam, said that when she discovered he was still alive, "That was the most miraculous feeling."
"We had gone, like I said, from the lowest possible emotion that a parent could feel to the top of the mountains again," she said.
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Dunlap now has the pocketknife that was scraped across his foot, causing the first reaction.
"Just makes me thankful, makes me thankful that they didn't give up," he said. "Only the good die young, so I didn't go."