I’m a doctor who’s seen 2 dead patients come back to life — here’s how it happens
It turns out there is life after “death” — at least for some lucky patients.
An emergency room doctor who has seen two people return to life after being declared dead is speaking out about the surreal experiences in a new essay.
Dr. Stephen Hughes, a senior lecturer in medicine at England’s Anglia Ruskin University, said instances of people regaining consciousness after passing away are “very rare” — but not beyond the realm of possibility.
In a piece penned for the Conversation, the doc declared that he once saw an “elderly woman” return to life after another medic confirmed her death.
“One day in a hospital, a colleague pronounced an elderly woman dead, but a short while later, she started breathing again and her pulse was briefly restored,” Hughes wrote, seeming to imply that the woman subsequently passed away again soon after.
Meanwhile, the doctor also witnessed a second woman return to life — with this lucky patient going on to make a miraculous full recovery.
“In another unforgettable incident, the medical emergency team was summoned with the words: ‘Cardiac arrest. Mortuary. This is not a joke!’ A woman had taken an overdose of barbiturates prescribed for her epilepsy. She had been seen by a general practitioner who certified that she was dead,” Hughes recalled.
“But on arrival at the mortuary, one of her legs was seen to be twitching. Excruciating embarrassment all around. And if I recall correctly, she recovered.”
Barbiturates are medications prescribed to prevent convulsions and seizures and used to be commonly prescribed to treat epilepsy, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The pills — which make patients feel relaxed and drowsy — “aren’t as common [today] as in years past because newer drugs have largely taken their place.”
However, Hughes said other commonly prescribed pills, including Valium, have caused patients to pass away only to subsequently regain consciousness.
“An overdose of sedatives reduces responsiveness and depresses breathing and circulation, leading to the impression of death while protecting the brain from hypoxia (oxygen starvation). Later on, as the drug is cleared from the body, the person may wake up,” he explained.
“Diazepam (brand name: Valium) and alprazolam (brand name: Xanax) have both caused people to mistakenly be declared dead,” the doctor added.
Hughes’ essay is in the spotlight following shocking news from Ecuador, where a woman woke up while inside a coffin at her own funeral.
Bella Montoya, 76, regained consciousness during her own farewell vigil, which was held in the city of Babahoyo last Friday.
The grandmother alerted mourners by hitting the inside of her coffin. She is currently making a recovery in a hospital.
Meanwhile, a young TikTok user went viral earlier this week after revealing that she was declared dead for three minutes — only to miraculously return to life.
