A surprising misdiagnosed death in San José de Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, has triggered a re-examination of the death declaration process. A 90-year-old woman who had been pronounced dead at a local hospital was later found alive at the city morgue.
Crematorium workers collecting the bodies discovered that the elderly woman, Norma Silvera da Silva, was still alive. Crematorium staff noticed that Norma’s body was unusually warm and not stiff – a sign of life.
Previously, Norma was admitted to the São José Homero Miranda Regional Hospital after her health deteriorated. Norma’s close friend and carer Jessica Sylvie Pereira recounted her harrowing visit to the hospital on Saturday. Despite Norma’s fragile health, she still had the strength to open her eyes and recognize the visitor’s presence.
Shockingly, Jessica and Norma’s son was notified that evening that the elderly woman had been wrongly diagnosed as dead. The hospital’s death certificate showed the cause of death was a urinary tract infection. Jessica recounted how Norma’s body was taken to the morgue without giving the family a chance to say a final goodbye.
While collecting the body, crematorium staff observed Norma’s warm body and flexibility and were surprised to find that she was still alive. Looking carefully, he found that the old woman was still breathing.
Although Norma was readmitted to the hospital, she died from health complications in the early hours of the following Monday. The hospital issued another death certificate, this time attributing his death to “septic shock” caused by “indefinite focus on sepsis.”
Jessica expressed her confusion and anguish on behalf of Norma’s family, claiming doctors had not provided a clear explanation for the events that led to Norma’s death. This misdiagnosed death exposed hospital regulations and highlighted the urgent need for strict controls and regulations in the death reporting process.
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