A Mother Visits Her Daughter at the Morgue to Say Goodbye – and Makes a Shocking Discovery

Sandra from Argentina had already given birth to four children when she became pregnant with her fifth. It was supposed to be a girl, and Sandra and her partner Martin were hopeful that this pregnancy would go well. But unfortunately, at 26 weeks of pregnancy, she started having contractions. So she rushed to a hospital in northeastern Argentina. It was too early for the baby to be born, but it was happening. Little Emilia was born on April 8, 2017, almost three months before her due date.

She was tiny, weighing only one and a half kilograms, and the worst thing was that she did not seem to breathe or show any signs of life. Doctors tried to resuscitate her and called a neonatologist, but he also could not find any signs of life in the baby. Emilia was stillborn and they officially announced it and issued a death certificate. Her fragile little body was wrapped in cloth and placed in a small wooden coffin.

Sandra was under anesthesia during the birth and had to talk about what happened when she woke up. The woman was completely heartbroken and could not believe that she had lost her daughter. Everything happened very quickly. She felt a strong desire to see her little daughter, to make sure that she was really dead, and to photograph her for the funeral service.

She told her husband what she wanted and convinced him and her brother to take her to the hospital morgue. Together they got permission from doctors to do this. More than 12 hours have passed since Emilia was born. As they walked down to the morgue, Sandra mentally prepared for this moment. She was still weak from the birth. Can you imagine how she felt? No parent should have to go through the emotions of losing a child.

At the morgue, Sandra and her partner Martin discovered Emilia’s small coffin. As Sandra leaned over the box, she looked at her baby’s tiny body and touched her hand. Sandra then moved the fabric slightly away from Emilia’s face. And then the unthinkable happened. The woman suddenly heard a quiet cry and saw her daughter’s big, sparkling eyes looking at her. Shocked, she jumped back and said to herself,

“It’s my imagination!”

Emilia woke up before their eyes.

Everyone was stunned. How could this be possible? While Sandra and her husband were paralyzed by what they saw, Sandra’s brother reacted immediately. He grabbed the girl and ran to the newborn ward. After the amazed doctors confirmed that the child was alive, Emilia was admitted to the intensive care unit. It was necessary to warm her small body, provide oxygen and nutrition, and conduct tests to find out whether her stay in the morgue refrigerator had caused damage. And along with all this, it was necessary to answer the main question, namely: how could this happen?

While Emilia was undergoing treatment, her parents tried to come to terms with this emotional event. They thought they had lost their daughter, but gradually began to realize that she was alive.

“I can’t explain what happened,” said her father Martin, “it’s just that God performed a miracle.”

The doctors also could not explain what happened. The hospital launched an investigation to see if anyone could be blamed for this terrible mistake.

“The personnel involved are responsible and therefore must be held accountable,” said Juan Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Health of the Chaco region.

Meanwhile, Emilia’s condition stabilized in the intensive care unit and it was soon decided that she would be taken to a hospital in Buenos Aires, where there is a special neonatology department with the most modern equipment. A couple of days later, everyone was gripped by a new fear when Emilia stopped breathing due to a hemorrhage in the lungs, and complex cardiopulmonary resuscitation was required. This episode caused irreparable damage to the girl’s brain, and her parents were told that only 10% of her brain was still functioning.

Emilia spent the next 8 weeks in a Buenos Aires hospital. She grew stronger every day and gradually gained weight. She was soon able to drink breast milk from her mother, which is always a good sign. Unfortunately, her father, Martin, could not withstand all this pressure and left Sandra and her children alone. Now Sandra had to do everything herself.

Finally, after so many months of fear and worry since her tumultuous birth, Emilia was strong enough to return home to her mother. Sandra was with her daughter all the time and felt that she had a real miracle in her arms when she took her daughter home. However, she was still at risk and would develop several health complications over the next 15 months. She also had developmental issues, and it was clear that the fact that she was born 3 months premature, spent 12 long hours in the cold and suffered cardiac arrest did not leave her little body unscathed.

Sandra surrounded her little girl with all possible care and love, although it was difficult for her and she was far from a rich woman. After several subsequent tests, it turned out that Emilia suffers from microcephaly, in which her head as well as her brain does not develop properly, which can only be cured through a stem cell transplant. Very complex and also very expensive treatment. Sandra did not have the money for this, but she thought that perhaps she could take the child to China to undergo treatment there.

She started a fundraising campaign, despite doctors telling her that Emilia would not be strong enough to travel. And at the end of June she suffered another cardiac arrest and Sandra took her to the hospital again. The girl was placed on a ventilator but remained in critical condition for several hours and CPR was no longer effective. Her little heart gave up and the girl died.

It was heartbreaking! I can’t imagine how Sandra felt to lose her daughter for the second time, and this time for good. Sharing her loss with the world, Sandra wrote an incredibly moving public farewell letter. She wrote,

“Today my love we don’t say goodbye because one day we will see each other again. God gave me birth at this time, and I can assure that the past year, three months and 15 days next to her have made me the happiest woman on this planet.”

She told everyone that she was sure that Emilia had a mission on this earth. One day a guy came up to her and said,

“I wanted to commit suicide, but as soon as I saw how Emilia was struggling, I thought, why can’t I fight too?”

I have goosebumps and wish Sandra and her family much strength during these very difficult times.