Woman declared dead in Ecuador knocks on coffin during her wake
Beautiful flower arrangement used in a bouquet display for a funeral on a coffin in a hearse
A 76-year-old woman who was declared dead at a hospital in Ecuador astonished her relatives by knocking on her coffin during her wake, prompting a government investigation into the hospital.
“It gave us all a fright,” son Gilberto Barbera told the Associated Press, adding that doctors said his mother’s situation remained dire.
Retired nurse Bella Montoya was admitted to hospital on Friday, after suffering a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest. When she did not respond to resuscitation a doctor on duty declared her dead, Ecuador’s health ministry said.
Barbera said his mother was unconscious when she was brought to the emergency room and that a few hours later a doctor informed him she was dead and handed over identity documents and a death certificate.
The family then brought her to a funeral home and were holding a wake later Friday when they started to hear strange sounds.
“There were about 20 of us there,” Barbera said. “After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds. My mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily.”
Though he and relatives rushed her back to the hospital Friday, she was still in serious condition Monday. She was under intubation, and doctors weren’t giving relatives much hope about her prognosis, Barbera said.
No details have been released about the doctor who had prematurely declared the woman dead.
