The family of 28-year-old Navy veteran Ethan Preseau had a made a decision that every family dreads. Preseau and his girlfriend, Piper Wade, were moving into their new Pensacola home when Wade found him unresponsive outside while grabbing some suitcases. 911 was called and it was found that Ethan had a heart infection along with brain damage. The diagnosis was bleak. “When they did the brain MRI, the MRI showed that the thalamus was black and dead. So, we had absolutely no hope,” said Ethan’s stepmother, Denice Preseau. Wade asked that the family wait 10 days to give Ethan a chance to improve. During that time, the family prepared for the worst and began planning his funeral. On the tenth day, with no signs of improvement, Ethan was taken off life support and was being prepped for his “honor walk,” a tradition which allows members of the family and friends to line hospital hallways as the patient is walked down for organ donation.

The family had finished Ethan’s honor walk and had been presented with a folded American flag when something amazing happened. “As they were gathered on the sand, the phone rang; it was the hospital asking them to come back to the hospital and choose a hospice location. Miraculously, when they walked in, Ethan was awake!” wrote Denise on a GoFundMe page set up for Ethan. “He followed his father across the room with his eyes, turned his head and smiled. He stuck his tongue out for the nurses three times. He raised his arm and squeezed his father’s fingers. He tried for a thumbs up. Ethan was back!” After it was confirmed that Ethan was still alive, doctors were stunned. “The one doctor did say, ‘I can definitely see this in the medical books in the future because they’re all baffled.’ I mean, the doctors are baffled; the nurses are baffled,” said Ethan’s father, Jeffrey.

It is now reported that Ethan has been able to laugh at jokes, use some sign language, and smile. According to a note on his GoFundMe, he was transferred to Jacksonville to start rehabilitation for a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Denise wrote that she, Jeffrey, and Piper have all moved in together to help Ethan in his recovery. “Ethan’s brain damage and rehabilitation leaves him unable to manage his finances, work, or maintain a normal household.

His father, Piper, and I will be his primary caregivers as we begin our new lives together as one family, under one roof. Jeff will use the money to pay Ethan’s medical bills on his behalf,” wrote Denise. The GoFundMe has raised over $30,000 so far.

While Ethan’s recovery is miraculous, it does highlight a growing ethical discussion surrounding organ donation and procurement. Several horror stories have come to light during congressional hearings of patients waking up in the middle of their organs being procured, with some doctors being encouraged to continue collecting the organs despite signs of life. A 2025 report from the Department of Health and Human Services found a “systemic disregard for the sanctity of human life” from a major organ procurement organization. In one particularly disturbing 2021 case that the investigation focused on, a Kentucky man who had overdosed was taken in for organ procurement despite witnesses claiming he was “thrashing around on the bed” and had visible tears. Doctors refused to complete the operation despite pressure from the organ donation program to continue. “In response to these findings, HRSA has mandated strict corrective actions for the OPO, and system-level changes to safeguard potential organ donors nationally,” concluded the investigation. “The OPO must conduct a full root cause analysis of its failure to follow internal protocols—including noncompliance with the five-minute observation rule after the patient’s death—and develop clear, enforceable policies to define donor eligibility criteria. Additionally, it must adopt a formal procedure allowing any staff member to halt a donation process if patient safety concerns arise.”