During his life story , Ted “ the Kid ” Williams was known for being one of the practiced hitters in baseball game chronicle . Now gone , his brain is presently lying in a cryonic laboratory in Arizona . This scary tale is one that is full of twists and turn , including a effectual battle and mishaps with his body .
Welcome to the very controversial world ofcryonics , where the aim is to preserve human body and brains at very lowly temperature with the goal of finally " resurrecting " the person . However , to day of the month , technology has not advanced enough to bring in those dusty dead body back to aliveness and likelynever will , even for the most far-famed patient role , like Ted Williams .
Who was Ted Williams?
Ted Williamscertainly had an eventful life . Born in 1918 , he became a professional baseball game participant and the last player to hit .400 in Major League Baseball .
TedmarriedDoris Soule in 1944 and they had a girl anticipate Barbara Joyce ( Bobby - Jo ) . He was call up up twice for military service as a Navy broadside during his baseball vocation – once during the Second World War , and then during the Korean War in the early fifties .
He ended up divorce his first married woman in 1954 , and matrimonial socialite model Lee Howard in 1961 but divorced in 1967 . He wed Dolores Wettach in 1968 and had two more children : John Henry and Claudia . As was the formula , he divorce Wettach in 1972 .
So famous he had his own stamp!Image credit: spatuletail/Shutterstock.com
In his later year , Ted was wait after by his son , who became his de facto handler and mightiness of lawyer ( a legal agreement that allow for the mortal to make sound and medical decisions on someone else ’s behalf ) .
Towards the end of his life , Ted bless a will that expressed his desire to be cremate after last . However , a few years later his key signature , along with John Henry ’s and Claudia ’s , appear at the bottom of ahandwritten note , which claimed that they would all care their bodies to be placed into bio stasis after they died . And so , shortly after Ted ’s death on July 5,2002 , at eld 83 , his consistence was fly by private jet to Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale , Arizona .
The ship’s company is a non-profit-making organization and their foreign mission , since the 1970s , was to be the earth loss leader in cryonics .
Ted Williams swearing into the navy.Image credit: Public domain viaWikimedia Commons
What happened to Ted after death?
There was an investigation that come up out presently after Ted ’s death . This was lead bySports Illustratedwith Alcor ’s ex - chief of operations Larry Johnson . In it , they described how complicated Ted ’s postmortem days were .
Despite what the original story claimed , Ted ’s consistence was not shack upside down in a bathing tub of fluid atomic number 7 . alternatively , his body was resting in two share due to an unexpected “ neuro separation ” – a classy way of saying they cut off his caput . Although it was uncertain why it happened , the number move against the family ’s original wishes for full soundbox saving .
Former Alcor Chief Operating Officer Charles Platt wrote to the company card about what happen and claim that many the great unwashed charter photos of Ted Williams ’s body and watched the procedure . Platt cite that no one who witnessed the procedure signed the nondisclosure form and the security in the elbow room was “ grossly negligent ” .
It involve 37 minutes for the head to be withdraw . During the process two small burr gob were drilled into his top dog , this was for observation and also so sensors could be placed into the head to notice any cracks that may pass off during the freezing procedure . The oral sex was then chilled in an intermediate freezer . On July 18 , 2003 , Alcor moved the head from the medium freezer due to cracks set forth to appear within Ted ’s head . He was then placed in another container for difficult freezing – in which swimming nitrogen is lento pump in . After a few sidereal day , the head was put in a neuro - can and sealed in a neuro - vault .
Since then , his shaved , drilled , and cracked mind , has been in liquid atomic number 7 in a blade can . Meanwhile , his brainless torso is currently being salt away in aBigfoot Dewar(stainless sword vacuum - insulated container that retain liquid N and can withstand four whole consistency or 10 mental capacity ) , with his patient ID number being A-1949 .
There were some issues that turned up during the investigations . Several samples of Ted ’s deoxyribonucleic acid ( eight out of 182 ) went missing . There was also the issue of Alcor ’s Consent for Cryonic Suspension for Ted Williams , submitted after he died , which did not have Ted ’s Signature . This was an takings as it go against the normal protocol of Alcor .
Sibling conflict
After his death , the Williams category started to fight over his body . Ted ’s eldest girl ( Bobby - Jo ) brought a suit to the family – she and Ted ’s healthcare helper take the consent for cryonics wasforgedby one of her other sibling , or that it was illegally obtained . Yet , science lab analysisdetermined that the signature appeared unfeigned and that there was no fashion forgery could be proved beyond a reasonable question .
Bobby - Joclaimedthat John Henry wanted Ted to be freeze so his deoxyribonucleic acid could be sold in the futurity .
It is call back that the alienated girl did n’t see her father before his death and he cut her out of the will , so it was unbelievable she ever had a conversation about cryonics with him . The cause was eventually settled as it be Bobby - Jo too much money .
In October 2002 , after many legal battles and fees , they reached a settlement , where Bobby - Jo would not remark on Ted ’s remains , and John Henry would not betray any of his founder ’s DNA or tissue . They also agreed that the consistency of Ted Williams would ride out at Alcor .
In 2004 , John Henry passed away from Leukemia , his body was charge to Alcor to be near his male parent ’s consistency .
So, how do you become a human icicle?
Cryonics is scientifically dubious – so what exactly is go on at cryopreservation institute ?
At Alcor , to even be considered for preservation , you have to be a fellow member . This does cost a brawny amount ; however , 95 percent of people who seek cryopreservationfundthe fellowship by naming Alcor as the beneficiary of their life insurance . When a person is cryopreserved , a portion of the backing go into a trust which helps with memory board costs . For the whole soundbox , $ 115,000 of the backing expire into the reliance and if you just get your brain frozen it is a lot cheaper at $ 25,000 .
When a person is declare dead and is a member , part of the Alcor ’s response team race to the soul ’s side . Theyclaimthe closer their procedures can be conducted after the heart discontinue , the better the prospects for a next successful " Resurrection of Christ " . Once de jure dead , the body operate through a stabilisation process , where Alcor “ artificially restore blood circulation and keep brain viability ” , then the at rest is placed into an methamphetamine hydrochloride bath .
The body is then transferred to the Alcor facility . At Alcor , they are given cryoprotectants ( a substance that can protect tissues from freezing impairment ) in an attempt to keep up the brain , blood vessel , and other electric organ ( if applicable ) . later on , the person is cooled by liquid nitrogen as quickly as potential to annul ice organisation . Once completed , the body is then stored at the facility .
How many people have been preserved?
Currently , there arealmost 200people that have been cryopreserved and most have been listed on the Alcor site . Some even have profile , so you could read more about them and their lives .
The very first person that was preserve by Alcor wasDr James H Bedford , who died from kidney malignant neoplastic disease in 1967 . He was even taken out in 1991 to see his condition . The Alcor team base that Bedford had not been warm above 0 ° C ( 32 ° F ) in this meter ( they left some ice third power on the eubstance to evidence if the cryonics had failed ) .
One of the more recent cause wasDr Steven B Harris , someone who was involved in cryonics for almost 40 eld and was also the Chief Medical Advisor of Alcor until 2018 . He died in November 2023 through an neglected cardiac halt .
The company also freezespets , however , the pet must be connected to an alive Alcor fellow member .
Overall , the Ted Williams slip highlight some of the arguing and sound issue that can bob up with cryonics . Despite this , to this Clarence Day , Ted Williams still resides at the facility .
