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By DARLA L. PICKETT
Staff Writer 12/11/2007

The 85-year-old Wade Street resident survived six hours in a snowbank Saturday in temperatures that dipped as low as 16 degrees.

Her core temperature dropped to 74.5 degrees Fahrenheit, far below a normal 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, before she was discovered by a man who came to check a house in the neighborhood.

Doctors and nurses at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan worked for more than four hours to revive the petite woman, whose body was like an ice cube, according to her brother, Ellery Brown.

"The doctors gave her very little hope of survival," Brown said. "The doctor in the emergency room said he had never seen anybody's temperature go that low and make it back as fast as Ruth did. It's a miracle."

Adams was snuggled safely in her hospital bed Monday morning, a red knit cap helping keep her warm.

"I feel good," said the small-framed but determined Adams, who held out her hands to show the skinned knuckles on which she had tried to crawl to safety. "I was fighting for my life until I passed out. I used up my energy. I got nerved up too."

Dr. Gina Gomez, her physician, said Adams' recovery is amazing.

"She is doing remarkably well. It's like nothing happened," Dr. Gomez said.

Brown said his sister for about 10 years has lived in a small bungalow behind his home. He said the time change this fall has confused her. He estimates she left her home at about 5 a.m., planning to visit him. She was found shortly before 11 a.m. at a home nearby.

Tracing her footsteps, it appears Adams tried her brother's door, but it was locked, he said.

"She couldn't get in, so she turned around and walked up the street to another home where the people were in Florida," Brown said, estimating the distance to be between 1,000 to 1,500 feet. "She has not walked that far in 10 years."

Adams said even if she had made it home, her house was locked up: "I bet I won't forget (the key) again."

Adams, originally from North New Portland, succumbed to the drop in temperatures and collapsed, unconscious, in the snowbank before Glenn Murray found her between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

Temperatures at that time ranged between 16 and 27 degrees, according to meteorologist Jim Hayes with the National Weather Service in Gray.

Murray, who lives on Smithfield Road, said he had gone to check on his father's house, when he saw the body in the snow. He suspected homicide and did not even get out of the car. Adams was wearing a blond wig over what she described as her sparse hair.

"The blond wig was what threw me. I thought it was a young girl somebody dumped off there," Murray said. "Wouldn't you know, it was the one day I would leave the house without my cell telephone."

Murray said he went to a relative's house and called 911. A paramedic showed up immediately in his car and an ambulance followed minutes later, he said.

Brown said when they found his sister, her clothing was completely wet and frozen: "They had to cut them all off." Later, he said with a chuckle: "She was not pleased they had cut her good clothes up."

By the time Adams arrived at the hospital, Dr. Don Zarfos and his staff were prepared, according to R.N. Theresa Howard.

"I absolutely have never seen a temperature this low," Howard said. "The paramedics had done an excellent job and gave us a heads-up. (Adams) responded when I talked to her, which amazed me."

Howard said they had warmed the mattress and put a "Bair Hugger" around her, a wrap-around unit that helps brings up body temperature. Intravenous fluids were warmed and hot pads put in areas like the armpits and groin.

Howard said one creative person even had the idea of putting the oxygen tubing between two hot packs to warm even the air she breathed.

"I cranked the (room's) heat up to 85," Howard said with a grin, recalling how red her face got from the heat. "I noticed when the family came in, she responded to their voices, so I told them to talk to her."

Howard said their success was satisfying. "It was awesome the way everybody came together," Howard said. "Going home, I remember thinking 'I feel like an ER nurse.'"

Dr. Roger Renfew, medical director at the hospital, said when he was participating in rounds Monday morning, Dr. Gomez was calling Adams their "Christmas miracle."

Renfrew said he had never seen hypothermia to this extent. He said hypothermia occurs anytime body temperature goes below 95. Below 82 is considered severe hypothermia. "It's really quite remarkable," Renfew said. "I think it actually may be a reportable case because of her good response to such severe hypothermia. Complete stoppage of (the heart) beating is at 68 degrees; she wasn't far away. She's a very lucky woman."

Darla L. Pickett -- 474-9534, Ext. 341

dpickett@centralmaine.com

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