20-year-old Michael Pruitt of Michigan thought April 30, 2019 would be a normal day. The spikey-haired young man was tagging along with his stepdad to help on a construction job in the Detroit area when the metal ladder Michael was carrying came in contact with a live wire, electrocuting him.

“I remember being electrocuted while holding that ladder and shaking, and then nothing,” Pruitt is quoted as saying in a news release from Farmington Hills’ Beaumont Hospital, the facility he was transported to by responding paramedics.

The homeowner where the construction was taking place found Michael and immediately called 911 before beginning CPR. Four minutes later, Livonia Fire & Rescue arrived to transport Pruitt to Beaumont Hospital in Farmington Hills, where the medical facility is equipped as a level 2 Emergency Trauma Center.

Paramedics resumed CPR and used a defibrillator on Michael, but by the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the young man had no vital signs and showed no signs of life.

Michael with Dr. Chudler and nurse Yasmeen Bachir

“They brought in this perfect young man who had no vital signs. I said to my team, ‘We’re bringing him back.’ And then, I said to him, ‘You better come back!’” Dr. Angel Chudler said.

Dr. Chundler shocked Michael’s heart again with the defibrillator, and when nothing happened, she upped the intensity and shocked his heart again. After two minutes, Pruitt’s heart miraculously began beating again.

“When he became conscious again, he was like The Hulk, grabbing the railings and shaking the bed with huge strength. It took the entire care team to hold Michael,” said Yasmeen Bachir, an RN who was assisting in Pruitt’s care. “I guess every superhero has to die at least once.”

The hospital’s Director of Trauma Services Barbara Smith, RN, explained what makes Michael’s revival so incredible: “In less than five minutes, brain cells start to die from lack of oxygen. Michael’s resuscitation is miraculous. He did not lose any brain function. It’s a testament to the importance of immediate and continuous CPR to move oxygenated blood to the brain.”

Michael was able to recover at home from his only remaining injuries, which were wounds to his big toes where the electrical current exited his body. He also got a tattoo to commemorate the miracle. Over his heart, Michael had etched the all-seeing eye of God inside a triangle, surrounded by a dreamcatcher.

Michael joked: “When people ask if my hair spikes naturally, now I tell them it’s because I was electrocuted.”

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