Coma Life

About the Book

“Coma Life” is the story of story of Dr. Richard Darling’s amazing life inside his coma and his uplifting, real-life struggle to survive against hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, diabetes, a heart attack, three liver transplant operations and more. He guides us through coma action scenes and interesting individuals that are colorful and hilarious. Dr. Darling candidly shares with us the emotions that surface when one meets his donor’s parents and children. A true gem of a book that provides hope, is uplifting for all, and is a great gift for the ill.

“Coma Life” explains the facts versus the myths regarding organ donation and details the dire need for new organ donor policies of Presumed Consent and “donation benefits” in the USA. Dr. Darling educates the reader on the disease of hepatitis C while reporting the gross inequities in research spending by the National Institutes of Health that unfairly affect the sixteen diseases (The 16) that kill a million more Americans than AIDS every year. “Coma Life” introduces Dr. Darling’s national organization, The FAIR Foundation, which represents The 16 in their goal: emphasis on mortality in funding disease research with special consideration to insure that diseases which kill few but cause great suffering also receive increased funding. Such policies would increase research funds for The 16 and reduce the disproportionate amount of money spent on AIDS research.

About the Author

Dr. Richard Darling, 55, was born and raised in Barre, Vermont. He was educated at Syracuse University, the University of Denver and graduated from the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco. He now strives to uplift the spirits of patients with liver disease in the Coachella Valley Hepatitis C, Liver Disease and Transplant Support Group that he founded. Dr. Darling gives speeches promoting the “Gift of Life” and is on the Board of Directors of the United Organ Transplant Association. He has founded ProrateNIH, a national organization whose goal is the equitable distribution of NIH research monies based on a disease’s mortality rate. Dr. Darling and his wife of twenty-one years, Kress, reside in Palm Desert, California, with their cats, Muffles, Silkie and Honey.