Donald Herbert

BUFFALO, N.Y. Donald Herbert had been virtually silent for nearly a decade after suffering a brain injury when a burning roof collapsed on him while he was fighting a fire in 1995.

Mr. Herbert spent his days in a wheelchair, in front of a television in a nursing home, blind, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, unable to eat without help. His doctor described his condition as close to a persistent vegetative state.

Then, last April he startled a worker at Father Baker Manor, where he had been a patient for seven years.

I want to talk to my wife, he said.

Mr. Herbert ' s sudden awakening and return to lucidity made headlines around the world and reunited him with his wife and four sons.

Dr. Jamil Ahmed, his neurologist, was hopeful that Herbert would continue his progress. But recently Herbert, 45, was admitted to a hospital in Buffalo suffering from pneumonia. He died early Tuesday of complications from the infection.

It was amazing I don ' t know how else to put it, Mr. Herbert ' s uncle, Simon Manka said, recalling his nephew ' s awakening. It was wonderful to be able to talk to him again and communicate with him.

Mr. Herbert ' s request last April began a remarkable return to a world that had bypassed him for a decade. A few months earlier, Ahmed had started treating Mr. Herbert with a cocktail of medications that blended vitamins with drugs normally used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Parkinson ' s disease.

His awakening led to emotional reunions with family and friends from the Buffalo Fire Department. His youngest son, who was 3 when Mr. Herbert was injured, barely knew him. Upon regaining his consciousness, he was surprised to find the boy was a teenager.

Though his periods of responsiveness were shorter after that initial revival, he continued making progress, his doctor said.

Mr. Herbert was still remarkably alert two weeks after his initial awakening when a former colleague visited. Patrick J. Coghlan was the lieutenant in charge Dec. 29, 1995, when the roof of a burning house collapsed on Mr. Herbert, cutting off his oxygen supply for several minutes.

I was talking to him, hoping he ' d recognize the voice, Coghlan said. His mom said, ' Don, Patty ' s here, ' and he said, ' Coghlan! '

By June, Mr. Herbert had improved enough to be moved to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to begin intensive physical therapy. Shortly before his departure, though, he fell while getting out of bed, striking his head, Ahmed said.

The fall caused a subdural hematoma that was not discovered until Mr. Herbert had been moved to Chicago, Ahmed said. A subsequent MRI revealed blood residue from the fall, which Ahmed said might have stalled Herbert ' s recovery. He was returned to Buffalo because he was not responsive enough to participate in the rehabilitation program.

Manka said his nephew had moments of clarity until he developed a fever and was transferred about a week ago to Mercy Hospital, where he died.

He had good days and bad days, Manka said.

The treatment that helped Mr. Herbert revive might work for others with certain types of brain injuries, his doctor said.

It definitely could be helpful to people who are not brain-dead, Ahmed said. I was happy to see the way he improved, and I ' ll keep working on other patients.

The Buffalo fire commissioner, Michael Lombardo, said Mr. Herbert left a mark on the department.

I don ' t know if there ' s anybody in our job who ' s ever been stronger or more of an inspiration, Lombardo said.