A three-year-old girl from Mexico named Camila Roxana Martínez Mendoza was found alive in her own coffin after being ruled dead from a stomach bug and dehydration. Camila was confirmed to be breathing when a funeral attendee spotted condensation on one of the coffin’s glass panels.

Soon after, another member of Camila’s family noticed her eyes moving and a pulse check revealed that the girl was, in fact, still alive. Camila later died after being rushed to the hospital by family members, reports Times Now Digital. Camila’s parents are now accusing the hospital and its staff of negligence after misdiagnosing their daughter’s death.

Camila’s mother, Mary Jane Mendoza, first took her daughter to the family’s pediatrician on August 17 after Camila had experienced severe stomach pain and vomiting as well as a fever. According to the Daily Mail, doctors recommended that Camila be taken to the hospital to treat her for dehydration. At the hospital, staff worked to monitor her oxygen levels and bring her fever down before being discharged an hour later with a prescription.

Unfortunately, Camila’s condition only worsened and she was taken to another doctor, who recommended she avoid sweet fruits and drink lots of fluids. This did Camila, who was still vomiting anything she ate or drank, no good, and the girl was once again rushed to the hospital where, after 10 minutes with an IV, doctors convinced Mendoza to let her daughter go peacefully.

“She still was hugging me,” Mendoza said. “They took her away and told me, ‘You have to let her rest in peace.'” For reasons still unknown, Mendoza was not allowed to be in the room with her daughter as she died. Camila was officially pronounced dead a few hours later and was transferred to the funeral home the next day, where she was discovered to still be alive.

Courtesy of Facebook (Mary Jane Mendoza)

According to the New York Post, Camila was pronounced dead for a second time, although doctors attributed her death to a cerebral edema instead of dehydration. “That was really where my baby was done. We are devastated because my girl was a very happy person, she got along with everyone, she didn’t single anyone out,” said the devastated Mendoza. “We have many people on the ranch who support us because she was cherished.”

Now, Mendoza is focused on making sure something like this never happens again. “What I really want is for justice to be served. I have no grudge against the doctors [who] went to extreme [measures],” Mendoza explained. “I only ask that the doctors, nurses and directors be changed so that it does not happen again.”

San Luis Potosí State Attorney General Jose Luis Ruiz is now investigating the case and trying to determine what went wrong during Camila’s treatment. Ruiz has confirmed that an autopsy will be performed to understand more about Camila’s illness, her cause of death, and why doctors were unable to see that she was still alive.

Share this Story