In most cases, a doctor’s declaration of death officially marks the end of someone’s life.
One Ecuadorian woman, however, seemingly rewrote her fate when she woke up in her coffin in the middle of her wake.
Her relatives rushed her to the hospital for treatment, and she is now recovering in intensive care.
Ecuador’s Health Ministry is currently investigating the incident.
According to The Associated Press, doctors pronounced 76-year-old retired nurse Bella Montoya dead at a hospital in Ecuador.
She was admitted there last Friday (9 June) for a suspected stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest.
Her son, Gilberto Barbera, said his mother was unconscious when they brought her to the emergency room.
Doctors later pronounced her dead as she did not respond to resuscitation efforts. They then passed Mr Barbera his mother’s identity documents and a death certificate.
Mr Barbera shared that he and his relatives brought Ms Montoya to a funeral home to hold a wake for her later that day.
Source: @evocentralnews on Twitter
About 20 of Ms Montoya’s relatives were there to pay their respects.
Unexpectedly, about five hours into the wake, they started to hear strange sounds from the coffin.
Mr Barbera added, “It gave us all a fright.”
Ms Montoya, who was wrapped in sheets, was hitting the walls of the coffin with her hands.
The family then found her breathing heavily upon closer inspection.
Source: @evocentralnews on Twitter
They immediately called for an ambulance to send her back to the hospital, where she was intubated.
CBS News reported that Ecuador’s Health Ministry is now investigating the incident and the doctors involved in prematurely pronouncing Ms Montoya dead.
They are supervising Ms Montoya’s care as well.
The ministry shared in a statement on Sunday (11 June) that a technical committee is also reviewing how the hospital issues death certificates.
Ms Montoya is now recuperating in the intensive care unit of the Martín Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo.
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Quoting Mr Barbera’s interview with Ecuador newspaper El Universo, CBS News added that while Ms Montoya is still on oxygen, her condition is improving.
Mr Barbera shared that his mother’s heart is “stable” and that she “reacted” when a doctor pinched her hand.
He added, “Little by little I am grasping what has happened. Now I only pray for my mother’s health to improve. I want her alive and by my side”.
MS News wishes Ms Montoya a speedy recovery. May she be in the pink of health again soon.
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Featured image adapted from @evocentralnews on Twitter.
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