Little Girl Found Alive Inside Coffin At Funeral Is Declared Dead At Hospital Again

A little girl in Mexico was pronounced dead twice in two days after doctors first erroneously presumed she was dead.

Family members attending the girl's funeral realized she was still alive and took her to the hospital, where she was eventually declared dead for the second time.

Mary Jane Mendoza Peralta took her 3-year-old daughter, Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza, to the Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community Hospital after a pediatrician in their hometown of Villa de Ramos advised her to do so, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Camila had fever, severe stomach pain and was vomiting when she arrived at the Salinas hospital in the state of San Luis Potosí on Aug. 17. Doctors treated her for dehydration and tried to bring her fever down, the mother said.

"After an hour they give her to me, they tell me that she is fine, they prescribed two sachets of serum and 30 drops of paracetamol," Mary told El Universal.

When Camila's condition did not improve, her mother consulted two other doctors before finally taking the child back to the Salinas hospital.

Doctors treated the girl and put her on IV fluids. However, she was eventually declared dead from dehydration.

"Ten minutes later ... [she was] disconnected; they didn't do an electrocardiogram," Mary told the outlet.

The mother also said she could feel her daughter embrace her when she picked her up.

"I felt the strength of my girl [but] they took her from me and said, 'Let her rest in peace,'" the mother added.

It was only the next day at Camila's funeral viewing when the mother next saw her child, according to Mexico News Daily.

As Camila lay in her coffin, Mary noticed the top glass fogging up. But her concerns were dismissed by fellow funeral attendees who said her grief might be making her hallucinate.

Mary's mother-in-law eventually took a closer look at the coffin and noticed the child's eyes moving. The family soon discovered that Camila's heart was still beating.

The child was taken to the hospital once again, but doctors could not revive her and eventually pronounced her dead. again Her cause of death this time was cerebral edema or brain swelling.

Mary, who now has two death certificates for her daughter, said she wants justice and hopes to see the doctors, nurses and directors at the hospital be replaced to avoid incidents like this.

The events that led up to Camila's death are being investigated, State Attorney General José Luis Ruiz said. However, Mary said she has not been contacted by Ruiz's office or the concerned authorities yet.