Polish Woman Wakes Up in Funeral Home After Being Declared Dead
An elderly woman in Poland was incorrectly declared dead on Nov. 6 and sent to a funeral home, only to wake up 11 hours later while in cold storage at the mortuary, according to reports by CNN's Polish affiliate TVN. Janina Kolkiewicz is now home and doing well.
The 91-year-old was at her home with her family in Ostrow Lubelski when she stopped breathing. TVN reported that a doctor came to her residence and said there were none of the signs of life.
"I checked the pulse on the forearm artery, carotid artery also," the doctor said to TVN. "I listened to the heart, to the breathing. I also examined the pupils. There were no reflexes. Typical symptoms of death."
She, later identified as Dr. Wieslawa Czyz, then signed the death certificate and the Kolkiewicz family began arranging services for the funeral.
Several hours later, the funeral home called and said Kolkiewicz had woken up while being held in cold storage. Workers said they noticed movement in her body bag.
Authorities are carrying out an investigation to determine what happened.
"We are investigating whether the doctor exposed the woman to imminent danger of loss of life, as the lady was moved to a funeral home and kept in cold storage," spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office in Lubin, Beata Syk-Jankowska, told TVN.
"I was sure she was dead," Czyz said. "I'm stunned, I don't understand what happened. Her heart had stopped beating, she was no longer breathing."
Kolkiewicz was released back home and reportedly had pancakes and soup to warm up, according to BBC News. She told her relatives she was feeling "normal, fine" now, but her family said she hasn't grasped how close to the grave she was.
Her niece told Polish media, "My aunt has no inkling of what happened since she has late-stage dementia.
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