The Nation - News from June 11, 1989

A man who astonished doctors by reviving 40 minutes after he was declared dead from a jolt of electricity was in critical condition, hospital officials in Joplin, Mo., said. Jerry Middleswart was breathing with the aid of a respirator at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. He had been declared dead a day earlier after the antenna he and six other men were attempting to put up at his Oswego, Kan., veterinary clinic came in contact with a 7,600-volt power line. Tests indicated Middleswart had suffered brain damage. “He was a friend of mine,” said Dr. Phillip Bortmes, who worked for 45 minutes to revive Middleswart. “I made damn sure I tried everything before I stopped working on him.”