The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up
Book Review

DONNY HERBERT BOOK SYNOPSIS

Donny Herbert is a devoted family man, a church and community icon in his community in Buffalo, and a fearless New York firefighter.

Anoxic Brain Injury
One day he doesn't fare so well on a call. Deprived of oxygen and suffering from a head trauma of the worst kind, Donny's family is told he will never come out of a vegetative state. He suffers an anoxic brain injury when two lobes of his brain tissue die. The effects of brain injury are very serious so the doctors said all anyone could do was pray.

And that is what they did for ten years until one day he woke up. For sixteen hours he was able to talk with his family and for all purposes seem “normal.” Was this a miracle or was it a combination drug cocktail? You decide.

QUEENIE B SAYS

We all love a good heroic story and since 9-11 this couldn't be more true. It really hits home - a firefighter doing his job and never returns, like a soldier fighting for his country. Tragedy, belief and a miracle is what Donny Herbert’s story is all about.

In this nonfiction book that reads like a novel, Donny is portrayed as a hero in his daily life. It’s not just about the firefighting. "Being a fireman was not his life, he lived for Linda and the kids" (71).

During his ten years of comatose or vegetative state, there are signs of Donny struggling to fight back, but always there is no continued improvement. His brain stem still put out just enough transmission for him to breathe on his own and keep his vital organs working. His wife prays for ten years because she is devoted to the thought that he will come back to the family one day. And calling it nothing short of a miracle, that’s just what he does.

A Father Baker Miracle?
The big mystery surrounding this is whether or not Father Baker, a dead local priest who is said to have performed miracles in his time, is responsible for Donny’s waking up. Donny is in a facility named for Father Baker and when he wakes up claimed to have seen him. Did Donny wake up of his own accord or did a Father Baker miracle having something to do with it?

In our world there is so much strife. Donny Herbert gives us reason to believe in second chances.

DONNY HERBERT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Was Donny’s 16 hour wake-up caused by a combination drug cocktail or was it an act of God?
2. What good comes out of tragedy?
3. Was Father Baker responsible for Donny’s miracle?