[url]story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020211/ap_on_re_us/mistaken_death_1[/url]

EMTs Mistakenly Think Woman Dead
Mon Feb 11, 8:48 AM ET

NEW YORK - Paramedics mistakenly declared a 77-year-old woman dead after finding her unconscious on her bathroom floor, a blunder that went undiscovered for hours until she woke up while being put into a body bag.

 
The woman, Frances Foster of Brooklyn, was later hospitalized in critical condition. She had suffered a stroke.

"I called everyone and had to tell them my mother was dead, then only to call back and say she's alive," said daughter Kim Foster Littlejohn. "She could have been at the hospital getting taken care of. What a costly mistake."

She said a medical examiner's official didn't discover Foster was alive until she was being put into the bag.

"He told me ... she suddenly moved and opened her eyes and he jumped back, startled," she said.

The two paramedics called to Foster's home Saturday, who were not identified, were placed on desk duty pending an investigation. They found Foster lying on her bathroom floor and pronounced her dead at 2:21 p.m.

A discrepancy remains over when Foster was reported alive.

Littlejohn said the mistake was discovered at 7 p.m., hours after police arrived.

Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said that her office was notified of the presumed death at 3:41 p.m. and that Foster was reported alive at 5:35 p.m.

Donald Faeth, of the union that represents EMTs and paramedics, said Foster was "cold to the touch" and that one of her legs was bent and wouldn't straighten, leading the paramedics to assume rigor mortis had set in.

Littlejohn said she hadn't heard from her mother in about 10 days so she called authorities to open her apartment door.

Foster, a retired nurse, had no specific health problems but had been in declining health after losing her two sons to illness in less than two years, Littlejohn said.

"She stopped paying attention to her diet and started getting frail," she said. "It took a real toll."

Reminds me of Monty Python's Holy Grail

"Bring out your dead!"
"Wait a minute! I'm not dead yet!"

Wait a minute, she's not dead! No! She's a zombie! Protect your brain!

Donald Faeth, of the union that represents EMTs and paramedics, said Foster was "cold to the touch" and that one of her legs was bent and wouldn't straighten, leading the paramedics to assume rigor mortis had set in.


What about doing stuff like checking for a pulse, or respiration?? Paramedics might also try hooking her up to a heart monitor. What about lividity?

"I thought you checked to see if she was breathing?"  "No, I thought you did."  Oops.

I started to think about this.  That coroner must have soiled his shorts when the old lady started moving around.  [:O]

What about the old lady? Can you imagine waking up while you're being stuffed in a body bag only to look around and notice that you are surrounded by other corpses?

Operator: "911-what's your emergency?"

Caller: "It's my grandmother - I found her on the floor at home and I think she's dead! What do I do?"

Operator: "Okay, first thing we need to do is make sure she's dead..."

Caller: "Alright...  [b]BOOM![/b]... Okay, now what?"

[b][i]. . .Said daughter Kim Foster Littlejohn. ". . .What a costly mistake."[/b][/i]

Hmm, sounds like she's already heard from her attorney on this one . . .

This isn't as bad as my friends wife...

Here in Phx, she was working at the "Castle Boutique" (and adult shop), where she was robbed, kidnapped, shot (in the head and chest)and left in the desert.

He got the call from the sheriffs department that they had finaly found her (12 - 24 hrs after the initial robbery) and that she was deceased. Apparently while they were transporting her to the coroners they noticed that she hadn't died yet. Quick U-turn to the hospital!

It was weird getting the call from my friend telling me that his wife was dead, then 30 minutes later, he calls back to say that they made a mistake and she is in critical condition and in ICU now.

Just to let you know, she is doing well. Lost use of right arm, and limited use of right leg. Small vision loss. Regained her speach though. This was roughly 2 years ago when it all happened.

But the real kicker is, my friend just passed away from Melanoma on Friday, leaving her and his 3 year old son behind. So let this be a lesson, check those moles on your skin. He was 31.

Jesus, Guzzler, you're bringing me down!