( Spanish) — In Ecuador, Bella Montoya – the 76-year-old woman who woke up during her funeral a week ago – died this Friday after having remained in the critical care unit of the Martín Icaza General Hospital in the coastal city of Babahoyo, province of Los Ríos.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health confirmed that Montoya remained in the critical care unit for seven days “in critical conditions and with an ischemic cerebrovascular event.”
“During his hospital stay, he received comprehensive medical care and periodic evaluation by hospital specialists. Likewise, the respective medical audit was carried out for this case,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Gilbert Barberán, the woman’s son, told that Montoya died this Friday afternoon.
“Yes, my mom died at 5 in the afternoon. We are already watching over her, ”Barberán reported, who also specified that he must carry out new procedures in the Civil Registry to register the death of her mother for the second time.
While Zeneida Leal, Montoya’s daughter, told that her mother worsened in recent days after she woke up from the funeral and was admitted to critical care.
“The doctor said that my mom was sick. That she was very delicate. That she was suffering from kidney failure. That she could not be saved because everything was getting complicated and she went into respiratory arrest, ”Leal told .
In addition, he explained that his mother had a stroke when she was admitted to the hospital last week days before she was first reported dead.
How did the Montoya case happen?
After being pronounced dead, Montoya was found with vital signs and beating her coffin during her funeral. The relatives, surprised and distraught, reported on June 10 what had happened through a video that went viral on social networks and confirmed that, after opening the coffin, they realized that the woman was still breathing.
“I picked up the coffin, and her heart was pounding, and her left hand was hitting the coffin… We called 911 to bring her here to the hospital,” Barberán said in the video posted on social media.
After the discovery, they called the emergency services that transferred her to the Martín Icaza de Babahoyo Hospital for treatment.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health reported on June 11 through a statement that Montoya was admitted to the same hospital with a presumptive diagnosis of “cerebrovascular accident.”
Subsequently, according to the entity, the 76-year-old woman had a “cardiorespiratory arrest” to which she did not respond after performing resuscitation maneuvers, for which the doctor in charge on duty confirmed her death.
An open investigation
The Martin Icaza de Babahoyo Hospital belongs to the State, for which reason the Ministry of Health announced on June 11 that it had convened a Medical Audit Committee to assess responsibilities in the Montoya case.
“To analyze this case in depth, the Ministry of Health in coordination with the Health Services Quality Assurance Agency formed a National Technical Committee and will initiate a medical audit to establish responsibilities for the alleged confirmation of death,” he said. the first statement from the Ministry on the subject.
communicated this Friday night with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health to find out if the investigation was closed and if there are final conclusions on the Montoya case. is awaiting a response.
