In 2009, a woman at a Syracuse, New York hospital woke up on a surgical table while doctors were preparing for the removal or her organs.

In 2009 a woman at a Syracuse, New York hospital woke up on a surgical table while doctors were preparing for the removal of her organs.

Believe it or not, that wasn’t the first noticeable sign that the woman was not, in fact, dead.

Colleen Burns, a 41-year-old mother of three, had been admitted to the hospital following an overdose of various medications including Xanax and muscle relaxants.

Doctors declared her unresponsive and placed her on a ventilator. Her family eventually agreed to have her removed from life support and donate her organs.

In the course of an investigation a government agency discovered that doctors had dismissed several reports that the woman was responding to stimuli. She was said to have curled her toes, moved her tongue, and flared her nostrils.

She was also said to have been breathing on her own.

As part of the preparation for the harvesting, the allegedly brain dead patient was given a sedative.

The state Health Department declared the hospital’s actions unacceptable and fined them six thousand dollars.

Sadly, sixteen months after her release, Colleen Burns was successful at taking her own life.