In the United States, a 20-year-old woman woke up in a morgue after being pronounced dead two hours earlier. How could this happen?
It sounds like a scene from a horror film: In Southfield, a town in Michigan near Detroit, USA, the supposed corpse of a woman has come back to life – after having been in the body bag and morgue for around two hours would have. It was only when employees of the funeral home tried to embalm her that they noticed that the 20-year-old was still alive.
Emergency call on Sunday morning
On Sunday morning, the woman's family, Timesha Beauchamp, called emergency services after realizing that something was wrong with her. Timesha lives with a so-called cerebral palsy as a result of early childhood brain damage and is therefore dependent on intensive care. After the morning oxygen treatment on Sunday, she was apparently sick, her lips were pale and she had difficulty breathing, "abc" quotes the family lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. Fieger suspects that Timesha may have previously suffered a stroke.
About 15 minutes after the emergency call, the police and rescue workers arrived, the lawyer said. According to the paramedics, they tried resuscitation for 30 minutes and checked Timesha's condition several times before deciding that there was nothing more they could do for the 20-year-old. They called the local hospital to explain the situation and consult a doctor – who pronounced Timesha dead. A short time later, the young woman was picked up by the funeral home.
Godmother had pointed out signs of life
Particularly precarious: According to Fieger, the 20-year-old was declared dead, although her godmother, a trained nurse, had pointed out that Timesha was still breathing and that she could feel a pulse. However, the paramedics attributed this to the medication Timesha was given. "She needed medical care and should have been taken to a hospital," Timesha's lawyer told abc, "but instead she was taken to a morgue."
Around noon, the employees found that Timesha was actually still alive. When they opened the body bag to embalm her body, her eyes were open and she was breathing. The 20-year-old was immediately taken to a hospital.
Timesha is currently in critical condition. She is connected to a ventilator, but her heart beats independently. How the error could have come about and whether the person responsible for it will be held accountable is currently being determined.
In any case, we hope that Timesha and her family will recover from this shock and that the 20-year-old will soon be better!