Despite being rushed to the Salinas Hospital, the doctors were unable to save Camila and declared her dead again, this time from cerebral edema.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 26, 2022. It has since been updated.
Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza's family accused the Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community Hospital of negligence which allegedly led the toddler to be declared dead too soon. After doctors wrongly assumed she was dead the first time, the three-year-old child woke up during her burial before being formally certified dead again, reported The New York Post.
When her mother, Mary Jane Mendoza, took her to see a pediatrician on August 17, the little girl was complaining of stomach aches, vomiting, and a fever. The doctor escalated the issue and suggested that the child be taken to a hospital in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potos for dehydration treatment. Doctors at Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community Hospital wrapped a cold towel over her little body to cool her down and attached a pulse oximeter to one of her fingers to monitor her oxygen levels.
Camila was discharged from the hospital with a prescription for paracetamol, which relieves pain and fever, but her condition worsened during the day. Another doctor examined her and advised her mother to feed her fruits and water, as well as prescribed a new medicine.
Girl, 3, declared 'dead,' wakes up at her funeral — then dies again https://t.co/IIfJVpKqWq pic.twitter.com/fwY3twIsmO
— New York Post (@nypost) August 24, 2022
Despite the medical advice, the toddler continued to vomit. Her concerned parents took her to another doctor, who recommended that she be transported to the emergency department. Camila was re-admitted to the hospital between 9 and 10 p.m., and doctors worked to help her.
“They wanted to give her (intravenous therapy). They took a long time to put oxygen on her. They didn’t put it on her because they couldn’t find her little veins; finally, a nurse managed it,” Mary Jane said. A few minutes later, the IV was removed and the child was taken away to rest. “She still was hugging me, they took her away and told me, ‘You have to let her rest in peace,'” Mary Jane recalled.
Girl wakes up at her own FUNERAL after doctors wrongly told parents she had died from stomach bug https://t.co/4KxfJdyiPx
— The Sun (@TheSun) August 24, 2022
The shocking part of the incident was that the mother was kept away from her daughter, in a locked room. Although she managed to get out of the room, she could not get into her daughter's room. Later, Camila was declared dead due to dehydration.
The following day, a funeral was organized for friends and family to mourn the beloved child when Mary Jane observed the coffin's glass window fogged up. Other guests assumed the grieving mother was hallucinating and prevented her from opening the coffin. Camila's paternal grandma, on the other hand, reportedly went to take a closer look, spotted Camila's eyes moving, and discovered she had a pulse.
After being rushed to the Salinas Hospital, the doctors were unable to save Camila and declared her dead from cerebral edema. “That was really where my baby was done. We are devastated because my girl was a very happy person, she got along with everyone, and she didn’t single anyone out. We have many people on the ranch who support us because she was cherished,” said the heartbroken mother.
The family is trying to get justice for their daughter. "What I really want is for justice to be served. I have no grudge against the doctors [who] went to extreme [measures],” Mary Jane said. “I only ask that the doctors, nurses, and directors be changed so that it does not happen again.”
References:
https://nypost.com/2022/08/24/girl-3-declared-dead-wakes-up-at-her-funeral-then-dies-again/
Cover Image Credit: Getty Images| Scott Olson
