Sixteen months ago, Dr S. George, a consultant physician in a West Australian hospital, returned from the dead to amaze colleagues who had battled for almost 55 minutes to revive his lifeless heart.
The story began on 24 October 2008.
Five days after running free medical clinics in Vanuatu, Dr George was returning from a clinic session on the south coast of Australia with his intern when he felt minor chest pains and unusually hot.
I decided to stop the car and as I got out still feeling the discomfort, I called my wife, also a doctor to let her know what was happening,” Dr George recalls. “She suggested driving straight home to Kalgoorlie.”
As he did so, he felt divinely directed to enter the clinic in Kambalda, 50kms short of Kalgoorlie, where he used an electro-cardiogram (ECG) to diagnose a heart attack and receive the few drugs they had there.
“The pain was getting worse and 11 minutes after the ECG my heart completely stopped beating. Not only did I have a heart attack but I went into cardiac arrest.”
For the next 60 minutes, a team of doctors and nurses used over 4,000 chest compressions and gave him 13 electrical shocks but neither his heart nor lungs responded. After one hour and 10 minutes, Sean was declared dead.
Ten minutes later, his wife Sherry arrived from Kalgoorlie and was told she could go in and say goodbye.
Dr George continues: “Being a doctor herself, Sherry knew that medical science had proven that if the blood supply to the brain was cut off for over 3 minutes the brain would begin to die, and in 20 minutes the brain would be completely dead. But as she and I had trusted in Jesus Christ as Almighty God and Saviour, she decided to humbly ask Him to intervene.
Holding my hand, she prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, he is only 39, I am only 38 and we have a ten year old boy, I need a miracle.’
“As soon as she said this it was as though someone had breathed life into me again and my heartbeat came back.”
Four hours later, Dr George was flown to Royal Perth hospital where doctors carried out an emergency procedure to clear a severely blocked artery on the right side of his heart.
The doctors thought I would not survive, and even if I did I would be completely brain dead on a ventilator. In Royal Perth ICU, I had kidney and liver failure and was still in a deep coma.”
Three days later, on Sunday, against all odds, Sean opened his eyes. The next day, he was moving his hands and legs.
On Wednesday, he was fully concious and off the ventilator, and his memory and brain were fully functional. Then two weeks later, he was discharged and returned to full-time work after three months of steady recovery.
As he reflects on these miraculous events, Dr George believes God wanted to teach him some important truths.
It has proved to him that Jesus really is Creator God and Sustainer of life and that He hears and responds to the humble prayers of His servants. He also now understands that eternity is only a breath away.
The experience has definitely grown my relationship with God,” says Dr George.“I am now more conscious that we are only pilgrims on this earth, that this life is only for a short time, so we need to focus on what lies ahead in eternity.”
Dr Sean George was just 17 when he left his parent’s home in Kuwait to finish high school with his grandparents in Kerala, South India to finish high school.
As he observed the devout faith of his grandfather T.K Thomas, a full-time evangelist, Sean began to admire his hope of eternal life.
After his death at age 74, I thought about life and began seeking God for myself, then in 1985, I trusted in Jesus Christ as the one true God and my Saviour from the penalty of sin.”
The following year, Sean started medical school in Manipal, South India, but forgot about God for a while due to alcohol, marijuana and lustful relationships with girls. However, none of these temptations were as satisfying as a clear conscience before God.
“After listening to a friend’s audio cassette called ‘Youth and the End’, the Lord opened my eyes and I gave up smoking, alcohol, drugs and rededicated my life to Jesus. I still struggled with lustful desires, but I believed there is victory in Jesus’ name, and as I surrendered myself to Him daily these desires faded.”
After marrying fellow Christian medical student Sherry, and joining the teaching staff at Manipal hospital with his wife, Sean says God put a burden in his heart for lost souls at a missionary conference in 1996.
In 2006, the George family settled in Kalgoorlie, even though Sherry had to give up her career as an ENT Surgeon.
We have no regrets — the Kalgoorlie community really needed help as there were no other physicians willing to work here.”
In 2008, Sean became involved in voluntary medical and mission work in Islands of Vanuatu.
Only five days after the first mission trip in October 2008, I had a cardiac arrest and God miraculously brought me back to life.”
In early 2009, the George family returned to Vanuatu for more voluntary clinical and mission work, a trip that saw many people respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.
“Every morning I thank Jesus Christ for yet another day,” Sean says. “I am alive and well today only because of Him. My life has changed forever, and I realise how valuable each day is.”
Reviewing the facts of his case, both as a professional doctor and personal survivor, Dr George is convinced that only God could have brought him back to complete health.
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“I don’t think there are any documented cases of patients who were clinically dead for so long, have come back to life with their memory perfectly intact and neurologically no deficits at all.
This is something that only God can do, because medically it is impossible.”
There are other important conclusions that Dr George says are clearly evident from his experience.
If you ever wondered if the miracles in the Bible actually happened, I am living proof that it did. If you have any doubts if this story is true, I can assure you it’s all well documented,” he affirms. “I encourage you to stop and think, how valuable is your life? There is no need to journey alone, trust Jesus, that He took the penalty for your sin, and ask Him into your life, and He will transform your heart to desire His perfect plan and use you for His glory.
“Jesus Christ loves you so much that He died for your sins on the cross. Will you trust Him as your Saviour today? God Bless you.”
