Doctor witnessed 'dead people' come back to life twice

Last weekend, mourners at a funeral in Ecuador were stunned to hear the sound of someone banging on the coffin of the “dead.” Bella Montoya, 76, regained consciousness during the vigil in the town of Babahoyo. She was then taken back to hospital for intensive care.

Doctors had previously declared Ms. Montoya dead due to not responding to resuscitation. Her family had therefore taken her body to the funeral home. However, a few hours later, she suddenly regained consciousness.

This is the fourth report of a “dead” person waking up this year. In February, a man was found breathing after doctors declared him dead at his home following cardiac arrest.

An 82-year-old woman in the US was declared dead in February but was found breathing hours after being transferred to a funeral home in New York. In January, a 66-year-old woman in Iowa was gasping for breath after being taken out of a body bag.

Signs of death include no breathing or heartbeat, no awakening, pale skin, half-open eyelids, fixed pupils, and an open mouth.

Dr Stephen Hughes, senior lecturer in medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, UK, shared withInsider, events of people who have been certified dead suddenly coming back to life are very rare. However, he has witnessed two in his 20-year career.

Dr. Stephen Hughes. Photo: ARU

Dr. Hughes first witnessed it while working at a rural hospital. A female epileptic patient had overdosed on an old-fashioned sedative.

The doctor arrived at the scene and called out to the patient but there was no response. He could not hear the patient's heartbeat, could not feel a pulse or detect any breathing. The doctor pronounced the patient dead and the body was taken to the morgue.

There, staff noticed a slight twitching in the patient's leg. Upon closer inspection, they found that she still had a pulse. The patient was taken to the intensive care unit.

"If I remember correctly, that person has recovered," Hughes shared onConversation.

In the second case, medical professionals believed a female patient was dying and stopped resuscitation. The woman was then pronounced dead. Dr. Hughes and his colleague left while another doctor filled out paperwork. Suddenly, the patient, who had been thought dead, began to regain consciousness.

The doctor said this was one of the cases that bothered him the most because the patient was not examined properly. If the doctor had turned on the monitor, they would have seen that the heart was still beating.

Dilated pupils can be a sign of death or some drugs remaining in the body.

Dr Hughes explains that “death is a process, not an event,” which can be confusing. Body systems shut down at different rates.

One test to certify death is whether the pupils remain fixed and dilated. But when some drugs remain in the body, the pupils may still be dilated.

Dr Hughes says there have been many cases of "dead" people coming back to life in ancient times. But with the process of certifying death being formalized and taught in medical schools, the likelihood of that happening is much less.