'Dying' Drunk Gets An Earful, Wakes From Coma

December 27, 2004 -- A man who drank himself into a coma and lay near death in a hospital bed suddenly woke up after hearing that his boss had commanded, "Get your ass back to work!"
Bill DiPasquale's miracle recovery stunned his family and friends, who were positive he was a goner.

In November, after DiPasquale was dismissed from his waiter's job at Abe & Louie's steakhouse in Boston because of a booze problem, he locked himself in his Revere, Mass., home and drank himself unconscious.

Relatives found him near death on Dec. 2 and took him to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was put on life support. But with hope fading, his family last week decided to pull the plug.

When the dying man's ex-boss, restaurateur Charles Sarkis, heard about it, he barked, "You tell him to wake up, get out of bed, and get his ass back to work!"

DiPasquale's friend Ralph Nash figured there was nothing to lose, and decided to deliver the message, whispering into his pal's ear, "Charlie says to get out of bed and get your ass back to work."

Five minutes later, DiPasquale suddenly awoke and uttered, "I've got to get to work." And he began a quick recovery.

Sarkis said he's not taking any credit for the incredible revival.

"I don't make miracles. Only one guy makes miracles," Sarkis told the Boston Herald, which first reported the story.

DiPasquale believes God is giving him a second chance.

"I think God said it's not my time yet. I feel like I've been given two strikes by God," he told the paper.

"He's telling me, 'Now, if you want to be struck out, have another drink.' It will not happen . . . The show must go on."