Continued: Doctor: Duluth woman lost in cold was 'like a corpse'

"When a heart gets that cold, the electrical activity is so fragile, that anything you do will just stop it," Delp said.

Hypothermia-induced cardiac arrest is fairly rare, said Dave Johnson, operations manager for Gold Cross Ambulance of Duluth and Superior. Still, he said, simply moving a severely hypothermic person can cause cardiac arrest.

Delp praised Gold Cross paramedics and Duluth Fire Department crews on the scene for recognizing that. The heart muscle must be warmed before it can start beating again, Delp said. Shocking a chilled heart, or using cardiac drugs, won't help.

Once in the St. Luke's emergency room, doctors worked to warm up Goodger.

Doctors set up heated IV drips and a machine to pump heated air into her body. After about 20 minutes in the ER, Goodger was taken to the operating room, where cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Mary Boylan used a machine to drain Goodger's blood from her cold body, warm it up, and pump it back in.

Emergency responders did CPR for at least an hour before Goodger was warm enough, Delp said.

When the time was right, surgeons shocked the muscle, and it began beating normally.

From there, Goodger's recovery was quick.

Goodger said the first thing she remembers afterward is her daughter whispering to her on Dec. 28.

"She said, 'You can go and see your sister in heaven, or you can stay and watch your grandchildren grow up,"' Goodger said.

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