UNDATED -- It's almost too awful to imagine: being awake but paralyzed during surgery. And although it's rare, studies say it could happen as many as 40,000 times a year. It's just such an experience that two West Virginia women say caused their father to commit suicide. Sherman Sizemore, a Baptist minister, killed himself in February 2006, two weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery.A lawsuit alleges Sizemore was awake for nearly 30 minutes of his surgery. The women say this experience left their father so upset he took his own life. Experts say people who've suffered from so-called anesthesia awareness are frequently distressed, even suffering from post-traumatic stress. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Raleigh Anesthesia Associates. No comment from the company.
Man Wakes Up During Surgery, Commits Suicide Two Weeks Later
Relatives say the suicide was caused by faulty anesthesia practices.
