Dead as a doornail means totally defunct, but in this sentence the tech-young fella is said to be alive and well
Consider the staetement "Anyway, I woke up in front of the picture window strapped to a wheelchair, and the tech-young fella, maybe thirty-he's alive and well.". Based on this statement, is "Anyway, I woke up in front of the picture window strapped to a wheelchair, and the tech-young fella, maybe thirty-he's dead as a doornail." a true statement? Yes/no/unknown