 Harper Audio presents Erasing Death, The Science That Is Rewriting The Boundaries Between Life and Death by Dr. Sam Parnia, with Josh Young. Read by James Patrick Cronin. Chapter 1 Amazing Things Are Happening Here Joe Tirilosi began to feel ill shortly after leaving a Manhattan car wash. He was a little nauseated, somehow off, and was glad his shift had ended. A chauffeur, Tirilosi spent his work days driving legendary stock trader, E. E. Buzzy Gadould, around New York City. But on this August afternoon in 2009, a few minutes after he had begun his drive home to Brooklyn, he couldn't stop perspiring. He cranked up the air conditioner in his car, but he continued to sweat profusely. Tirilosi was a practical man, a married father of two, and not given to panic. So he planned to push through with the rest of his day, figuring his ill feelings would pass. But an hour later, it was unbearable. He called his wife. Don't take any chances, she told him, go to the hospital. But he couldn't drive another block. His wife immediately called a co-worker who found Tirilosi pulled over at the corner of 80th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan and rushed him to the emergency room at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Tirilosi was helped into the E. R. by his co-worker. The color had drained from his face. He began explaining to a nurse what was wrong, but before he could finish, he collapsed. A code blew, meaning cardiac arrest was called. Tirilosi's heart stopped. He was dead. But fortunately for him, he had died in a hospital where a team of people specially trained in resuscitation was on duty. Doctors and nurses came racing over from every direction and immediately started CPR. They are accomplished professionals whom I have worked with many times, including Dr. Raul Sharma and Dr. Flavio Gaudio, both very diligent emergency physicians. They were part of the team that...