Woman pronounced dead by Southfield Fire Department found breathing at Detroit funeral home

In what the actual fuck news, a Southfield woman who had been declared dead early Sunday morning was reportedly found breathing and alive by funeral home staff.

The 20-year-old woman had suffered cardiac arrest inside her home, at which point her family called 911, WDIV-TV reports.

According to a statement made by the Southfield Fire Department, crews spent 30 minutes attempting to resuscitate the woman by performing “CPR and other live-reviving methods.”

“Given medical readings and the condition of the patient, it was determined at that time that she did not have signs of life,” the statement reads.

Sources told WDIV-TV that Southfield police allegedly saw the woman move and breathe, but the fire department assured them it was a result of medication given to her during their resuscitation efforts.

Once transported to James H. Cole Funeral Home in Detroit, however, funeral home staff, too, discovered the woman was breathing, at which point they alerted paramedics who found the woman was “very much alive” before transporting her to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

According to Southfield Fire, “there was no indication of foul play” and the emergency workers who responded to the scene followed standard operating procedures, and contacted the Oakland County Medical Examiner's office to provide them with medical data. The medical examiner's office had also concluded the woman had died and released the woman to family so that they may make funeral arrangements.

No further information has been released regarding the woman's identity or current condition.

There may be an explanation for this medical miracle, however.

According to MedicalNewsToday.com, cases like this have happened before due to what medical professionals refer to as "Lazarus syndrome" which can occur after a patient suffers cardiac arrest and is declared dead after CPR or other life-saving methods have failed. It's the return of spontaneous circulation, or ROSC, that appears to reanimate the deceased. The phenomenon was first described in medical literature in 1982 and as of 2017, there have been 38 reported cases.

According to a 2007 medical report, 82% of reported Lazarus syndrome cases experienced ROSC within 10 minutes after CPR efforts stopped, with 45% of those patients reported good neurological recovery.

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