After the family of 91-year-old Janina Kolkiewicz called her doctor because they believed she had stopped breathing, the doctor went to the woman’s home in Poland and declared her dead. Kolkiewicz was transported to a funeral home and her family began planning her funeral, but 11 hours later Kolkiewicz woke up in cold storage. She is now home with her family. The doctor has said that she checked for signs of life and found none before making the call and signing the death certificate. The Lublin Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the incident and the doctor’s actions.
See Ralph Ellis, Declared Dead, 91-Year-Old Woman Wakes Up 11 Hours Later in Funeral Home, CNN, Nov. 14, 2014.
Special thanks to Professor Adam Hirsch (University of San Diego) for bringing this article to my attention.
