A Kentucky man who was believed to be brain dead was allegedly moments away from having his organs harvested when he suddenly woke up on the operating table — crying, moving and proving he was still alive.
Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover was rushed to Baptist Health Richmond Hospital in Richmond, Kentucky, on Oct. 25, 2021, after suffering cardiac arrest following a drug overdose. The next day, his family was reportedly told there was no hope.
His sister, Donna Rhorer, said doctors told relatives that Hoover had “no reflexes” and “no brain activity.” Faced with the heartbreaking news, the family made the painful decision to remove him from life support.
They were then told Hoover was a registered organ donor.
But as the family prepared to say goodbye, Rhorer noticed something that stopped her cold. Her brother’s eyes were opening — and, she said, they appeared to be following people around the room.
“We had his honor walk Friday afternoon. During his honor walk, his eyes started opening up,” she told WKYT. “He was tracking. His eyes were tracking us around.”
When the family raised concerns, Rhorer said medical staff reassured them that what they were seeing was “just reflexes” and “normal.”
“Who are we to question the medical system?” she said.
Hoover was taken into surgery, where doctors were reportedly preparing to remove his organs for transplant. But about an hour later, a surgeon came back out with shocking news.
“He said he wasn’t ready,” Rhorer recalled. “He woke up.”
Even more disturbing, Rhorer said the family later learned that Hoover had allegedly shown signs of waking up earlier that same day during a heart catheterization — something she says relatives were not told at the time.
“If we had known that, then clearly we would have known he wasn’t brain dead,” she said.
After the terrifying ordeal, doctors reportedly told the family to take Hoover home and keep him comfortable because his prognosis was still grim.
Three years later, Rhorer is still caring for her brother. Hoover survived, but the overdose and cardiac arrest left him with lasting struggles, including problems with walking, balance, speech, memory and vision.
The case became even more disturbing when Rhorer said a former Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates employee later contacted her with new details about what allegedly happened inside the operating room. According to the former employee, Hoover had been “thrashing” on the table and “crying visibly” as staff prepared for the organ donation procedure.
The near-tragedy has sparked serious questions about how organ donation cases are handled and how doctors determine whether a patient is truly beyond saving.
Baptist Health said in a statement that patient safety is its “highest priority,” adding that the hospital works closely with patients and families to make sure organ donation wishes are followed.
Reports say the Kentucky attorney general’s office and a federal agency that oversees organ procurement organizations are now looking into the case.
For Hoover’s family, the horror of that day still lingers.
They walked into the hospital believing they were saying goodbye. Instead, they watched a man declared brain dead fight his way back from the brink — just before it was almost too late.
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Exactly why I’m not donor. They’re WAAY too anxious to harvest them.
So true! Local physician had an anurism. Daughter was told she was brain dead, but she had tears coming out of her eyes. She also was a donor. I always wondered if she knew what was happening. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.