It’s a story as old as time. Man goes to Brazilian hospital due to complications from an ongoing battle with stomach cancer. Doctors pronounce man dead of “respiratory and multiple organ failure.” Hospital puts the corpse in a body bag and sends it to the morgue, and contacts the family so they can start to make arrangement for the funeral. Family goes to the morgue the next day to make sure everything is ready for the undertaker to take the body away. Brother notices the body is “wriggling” inside the bag. The staff unzips it and OH GOD HE WAS ALIVE THE WHOLE TIME.
This is what happened to 54-year-old Valdelucio Goncalves. Here’s what his niece had to say about it:
“We were worried about him and thought he’d be better off in hospital, that they’d take better care of him that we could at home.
“It was a shock to all of us when they called to tell us he’d passed away. But we started making the funeral arrangements.
“By Sunday morning everything was sorted. We’d paid for his death notice in a newspaper, bought the coffin and booked his funeral.
“His feet had already been tied together and his nose and ears stuffed with cotton wool.” [Mirror]
Mr. Goncalves, who cannot speak, released a letter explaining that “he believed he had been brought back from the dead by Blessed Irma Dulce, a Franciscan Sister who is revered as a saint with miraculous powers in Brazil,” which is what I’ve chosen to believe as well, because otherwise this is pretty terrifying. Shoutout to Blessed Irma Dulce.