Eivind Ertesvag 
Norma, declared dead on Saturday, was found breathing by a horrified worker at the crematorium on Sunday.
Norma Silveira da Silva was still breathing when an employee at the crematorium noticed her skin was still warm, many hours after she was declared dead by doctors at Sao Jose Regional Hospital in Florianopolis, Brazil.
After being registered dead on November 25th at 23:40, she was sent to the morgue. But Norma was still alive and lay in the body bag for almost two hours before being discovered at 01:30 on Sunday by a crematorium employee.
Norma’s family is now planning to sue the hospital.
“This is a case of negligence that I wouldn’t wish anyone to experience. On Saturday afternoon, I went to visit her, and she opened her eyes,” a family member told local Brazilian media, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Even though Norma was weak, she managed to open her eyes and recognize that her family was there. However, the family was informed of her death on Saturday evening. On her first death certificate, dated November 25th, the cause of death was listed as an infection. She was sent directly to the morgue without allowing time for her family to see her.
The crematorium employee immediately reacted upon realizing that Norma was alive. He reported that she was breathing very faintly when he opened the body bag.
“She was no longer conscious, so she couldn’t ask for help. She was trying to breathe and couldn’t. I mean, from 23:40 to 01:30, she was inside the bag and nearly suffocated,” said the man who discovered Norma was not dead after all.
Unfortunately, she passed away early Monday morning, after being taken back to the department.
Norma’s family has still not been informed of her cause of death.
In the second death certificate issued, the cause of death was listed as “septic shock.”
Norma was cremated on November 27th.
