Worst Nightmare: Declared Dead, Detroit Woman Clings To Life
This is a nightmare you wouldn't wish on anyone's family. A 20 year old Detroit woman that the Southfield Fire Department paramedics thought they had failed to revive after 30 minutes of frantic efforts, was found to be breathing at the funeral home.
Sunday morning, the paramedics were called to a home where they found the woman unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
“Given medical readings and the condition of the patient, it was determined at that time that she did not have signs of life,” the department said in an ABC News story. Here's where the story gets complicated.
Click on Detroit says the Oakland County Medical Examiner's office disputes early reports that they had officially declared the woman dead. Their reports says the medics on the scene communicated with a doctor at a nearby local hospital, who actually declared the woman deceased, and it was then the body was released to the funeral home.
The Southfield Fire Department issued a later statement saying they had communicated with the hospital, where the doctor declared the woman had died, then the Fire Department contacted the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Dept. who, based on that information, released the body to the funeral home.
All that is, is those involved doing a CYA move, but on a human level, imagine the nightmare the family, especially the mother of this woman, is going through. The worst part is the mother isn't sure yet, if her daughter will survive. But getting that awful phone call, and the shock and pain of that, and then later getting word that she's still living, but apparently still in pretty bad condition.