She was still alive despite being completely frozen for hours and this is what doctors had to say

In 1980, 19-year-old Jean Hilliard was found "frozen solid" in Minnesota on a -22-degree day. After encountering car troubles, she tried to get help from her friend Wally Nelson but accidentally tripped, fell, and lost consciousness on the way to his home.

Image: Jean Hilliard Frozen solid, on National Newspaper/ Wally Nelson today, Hilliard today, her car in the ditch,

Nelson, who had no idea that Hilliard needed assistance until he discovered her frozen body near his home six hours later, was sure that she had died — until he saw "bubbles" coming out of her nose. Luckily, Nelson acted quickly and took her to the hospital, where doctors were horrified by the extent of her hypothermia.

In fact, her skin was reportedly so hard that it couldn't be punctured with a hypodermic needle, they broke on contact. Her body temperature was so low that it was not detected by a clinical thermometer.

The medical team decided to gradually warm Hilliard's body with heating pads even though they believed she was dead. After three hours of gradually warming up her body, a faint pulse was detected.

When she woke up, she was concerned about what her father would do when he learned she had wrecked his Ford LTD. Hillard told people it felt as if she had simply fallen asleep and awoken in a hospital.