A crematorium worker in Brazil got a shocking surprise after finding a 90-year-old woman still alive inside a body bag after she was pronounced dead, according to reports.
According to the Estadão, a Brazilian news source, the whole ordeal began on Saturday in the city of São José, just hours after hospital staff pronounced Norma Silveira da Silva dead.
The 90-year-old was then placed into a body bag and sent to the morgue for preservation.
Once the crematorium discovered the woman was still alive, she was sent back to the hospital and readmitted in what reports say was very poor condition.
The caregiver for the woman, Jéssica Silvi Pereira, told Estadão that the woman was admitted to the hospital in very poor health on Friday, and by Saturday evening, she and the woman’s son were notified that she had died.
Pereira stated that her friend’s body was quickly sent off to the morgue without even allowing her loved ones a moment to see her and say goodbye.
According to the death certificate, which was issued by the hospital, it stated that Norma Silveira da Silva had died from a “urinary tract infection”.
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When the crematorium worker gained access to the body, he allegedly told Pereira that he was surprised because her body still felt warm and, based on the time of death, it should have been colder. He added that when he lifted the woman, her arm shouldn’t have fallen, which he said was a sign that her body was not yet in rigor mortis.
Pereira said her friend had spent nearly two hours inside the sealed bag and “almost suffocating to death.”
According to reports, it was not immediately clear if da Silva ultimately died from not receiving medical treatment in time or another underlying condition.
She was pronounced dead early Monday morning and according to her second death certificate, the cause of death was listed as “septic shock.”
The Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Santa Catarina stated that it “has become aware of the situation and will establish appropriate procedures to monitor the case” and that an investigation is ongoing.
Pereira said the patient’s family is planning to sue the hospital for the incident.
“It’s a neglect that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Pereria said.