Hibernation is a mechanism that many animals use to survive long and cold winters. Hibernation is a state that the body goes into at a specific time of the year. Some animals can even survive being frozen and then come back to life later when the temperatures rise. Humans do not have this ability. Many scientists are attempting to find a way to put the human body into hibernation. This could be useful for preserving health until treatments are available or for transporting people across vast distances in space. One woman seems to have experienced hibernation by accident.
Jean Hilliard was driving to a friend’s house in 1981. It was 22 degrees below zero that day. Her car spun out of control leaving Jean stranded on the road in Lengby, Minnesota. Jean decided to get out of the car. She was going to try to walk the last two miles to the home of her friend. She managed to make it all the way to his house. She then does not remember anything after that. It turns out Jean collapsed on his front step without knocking. She laid in the freezing weather for six hours. Her friend found her the next morning and rushed Jean to the hospital.
Jean’s body was frozen solid. Doctors did not know what to do. They ended up using hot packs to slowly thaw out her body. It took around six hours but Jean eventually started making noises and asking for water. It took another six days before the rest of her body had defrosted. She spent a total of 49 days recovering in the hospital. The amazing thing is that Jean came away from the incident without any permanent injuries and is still alive to this day.
