Horrified mortuary worker finds woman gasping for breath in body bag ‘after 2 hours’
A MORTUARY worker was left horrified after a 90-year-old woman appeared to come back to life in a body bag.
Norma Silveira da Silva was gasping for breath when the worker found her hours after she was pronounced dead at the Sao Jose Regional Hospital in Brazil on Saturday.
He rushed her back to her hospital bed to recover but tragically she died just a day later.
Norma’s friend and caregiver Jessica Martins Silvi Pereira, 30, said the family plans to sue the hospital.
She said: “It’s a case of neglect that I would not wish on anyone.
“When he opened the bag she was breathing very weakly.
“And, as she was no longer conscious, she couldn’t ask for help, she tried to breathe and couldn’t.
“I mean, from 11.40pm until 1.30am she was inside the bag almost dying asphyxiated.”
Norma’s second death certificate, seen by local media, suggests she died of sepsis — a deadly reaction to an infection.
Sepsis affects 245,000 people in the UK every year.
It is caused by the body’s immune system going into overdrive, attacking its own internal organs and sometimes leading to deadly septic shock.
Doctors initially listed an infection as the cause of death on her first death certificate before she was taken to the mortuary.
After her horrific ordeal in the morgue, she was taken back to her ward.
Jessica told local media: “On Saturday afternoon, I went to visit her and she opened her eye.
“She didn’t have much stimulation, but she managed to open her eye and saw that we were there.”
Tragically she passed away the following day and Jessica said Norma’s family have still not been told what her cause of death was.
Her case will be investigated by Brazil’s Medical Ethics Committee and the Death Commission, according to local media.
The The Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Santa Catarina said it “was aware of the situation and will institute appropriate procedures to monitor the case”.
Norma was finally cremated on November 27.
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
An adult or older child has any of these symptoms of sepsis:
- acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
A baby or young child has any of these symptoms of sepsis:
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), breathlessness or breathing very fast
- a weak, high-pitched cry that’s not like their normal cry
- not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
They may not have all these symptoms.
Source: The NHS