You hear stories of people coming back from the dead, but dismiss them as folklore. But one story that unfolded for the family of a three-year-old girl combined all their nightmares in one.
On August 17, three-year-old Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza had stomach pain, and was experiencing vomiting and fever. This worried her mother Mary Jane Mendoza, who decided to seek medical help for her little girl.
She took her daughter to a pediatrician in her hometown of Villa de Ramos. The local doctor thought the condition was complex and needed more expert medical attention and help, prompting the mother to bring her daughter to the central state of Mexico; San Luis Potosí.
There she went to the Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community hospital. Doctors at the hospital placed a cold towel on her lower body to lower her temperature, while also placing an oximeter on her to monitor her oxygen levels.
Doctors allowed the little girl to go home and prescribed her acetaminophen. But her condition only worsened over the next few hours, prompting her family to seek a second opinion. The next doctor recommended a diet of fruits and also prescribed another medication.
When even that didn’t help, they consulted another doctor who advised that the little girl needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately. She was admitted to the Salinas hospital between 9:00 and 10:00 pm, where doctors and medical support staff worked to stabilize her condition.
“They wanted to give her (intravenous therapy). It took them a long time to give her oxygen. They didn’t do it because they couldn’t find her small veins; finally, a nurse managed to do it,” her mother said.
After ten minutes, they removed the IV and let little Camila rest. “She still hugged me, they took her away and said, ‘You have to let her rest in peace'”, her mother recalled.
Shockingly, Mendoza was locked in a separate room, separated from her little girl. She eventually stepped out, but the medical staff did not allow her to enter the room where her daughter was.
Shortly after, she was informed that Camila had died from dehydration.
The family organized a funeral the next day, so friends and family could mourn the tragic loss of the little girl. During the service, Camila saw the glass window of the casket fogging up.
While her family tried to convince her that she was having illusions and did not let her open the casket, her paternal grandmother wanted to take a closer look. She looked through the window and saw Camila moving her eyes, and upon checking, she even discovered a heartbeat!
She was urgently taken back to the Salinas hospital, where doctors tried everything to resuscitate her. But they were unsuccessful and diagnosed the little girl with cerebral edema.
“That was really where it ended for my baby. We are devastated because my girl was a very happy person, she could get along with everyone, she never picked on anyone. We have many people on the ranch who support us because she was cherished,” Mendoza said.
Camila was supposed to start kindergarten this week. Her first death certificate listed the cause of death as dehydration, while the second listed it as dehydration along with cerebral edema and metabolic failure.
“What I really want is justice. I hold no grudges against the doctors [who] went to the extreme in terms of [measures],” her grieving mother said. “I only ask that the doctors, nurses, and directors be replaced so that it doesn’t happen again,” she concluded.
The Attorney General of the state of San Luis Potosí, Jose Luis Ruiz, is investigating the case and an autopsy on Camila is underway. Her parents are demanding justice from the state.
Hopefully the Mendoza family gets the justice and answers they deserve.
What a terrible tragedy to endure. Rest in peace, little Camila.
