Omgosh, that is horrible about your dad! Did he know?? Praying for him if needed, don’t know when your story is from.
It was a spinal tap (or something similar) gone wrong. Completely paralyzed him (temporarily). Eyes were open. He could tell everything that was happening around him, but couldn’t move. Doctor pulled the sheet over his head. After a bit he could tell that he was being moved on a gurney to the morgue. Stayed there all day. A nurse, who wasn’t convinced that he was dead, checked on him after her shift was over. Found him still alive. She was reprimanded for insubordination. The doctor was rewarded.
This was back in the 1940’s. We never went to a VA hospital again. He finally made a return visit to a hospital morgue in the early 1990’s. Legitimate this time. I made sure.