The XO Directory

Alcides Moreno, a New York City window washer miraculously survived a plunge from a 47-story high-rise building. His brother was killed in the accident. His doctor said that his recovery has been astonishing.

"Thank God for the miracle that we had," she said. "He keeps telling me that it just wasn't his time.''

Dr. Herbert Pardes, the hospital's president, described Moreno's condition when he arrived for treatment as "a complete disaster."

Both legs and his right arm and wrist were broken in several places. He had severe injuries to his chest, his abdomen and his spinal column. His brain was bleeding. Everything was bleeding, it seemed.

In those first critical hours, doctors pumped 24 units of donated blood into his body – about twice his entire blood volume.

They gave him plasma and platelets and a drug to stimulate clotting and stop the haemorrhaging. They inserted a catheter into his brain to reduce swelling and cut open his abdomen to relieve pressure on his organs.

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See also: Legend of the Fall