Funeral plans put on hold

WEATHERFORD DEMOCRAT

WEATHERFORD — Phil Riddle

editor@weatherforddemocrat.com

Complain if you want about health care in the United States. About long lines, high costs and insurance red tape.

But, at least funeral directors in this country don’t have to make medical decisions.

According to a story filed by the Associated Press, a woman in Bogata, Columbia, declared deceased, was noticed moving by a funeral home employee.

Here’s the scoop.

Officials report the 45-year-old Columbian woman was rushed to a hospital in the city of Cali, where she was admitted into the intensive care unit in critical condition.

The woman, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, had been in the same hospital earlier in the week following a heart attack. She survived on life support for about 10 hours, then apparently did not respond to efforts to revive her after a second attack, and was declared dead.

At the funeral home a couple of hours later, Jaime Aullon was preparing to inject embalming fluid into the woman when he noticed her move.

“She was moving her right arm,” Aullon said. “I stopped the procedure and brought her back to the hospital to be treated.”

I wonder if HE had to be admitted.

I’ll bet Aullon’s heart rate was elevated following the incident.

It would be hard enough to imagine working around the dead, and I admire those who are able to do so, but to notice movement while preparing the departed for interment boggles the mind.In a creepy way.

Did the woman go Lazarus on us?

On rare occasions, a person’s heart rate and breathing can drop to undetectable levels, leading doctors to erroneously declare a patient dead, said neurosurgeon Juan Mendoza Vega, a member of the Colombian National Medical Ethics Board.

“It can happen,” he said. “But it’s not a matter of coming back to life because the person was never dead.”

That story reminds me of a question asked at an informal happy hour meeting of friends after attending the funeral of a mutual acquaintance.

“What do you want the preacher to say about you at your funeral?” one buddy of the deceased asked in a moment of philosophical grief.

“I want them to talk about the contributions I made to humanity,” said one fellow mourner.

“I hope they’ll remember me as a good father and husband,” said another.

“What do you want them to say at your funeral they asked of the until-then silent member of the group.

“I want them to say, ‘Look. He’s moving.’”

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