Florida mom who survived 45 minutes with no pulse describes near-death experience

abc7 ^ | November 10, 2014 | Coleen Sullivan

[NYer]

BOCA RATON, Fla. (KABC) --

Doctors and nurses at Boca Raton Regional Hospital are calling a mother's recovery a miracle. On Sept. 23, Ruby Graupera-Cassimiro, 40, had her daughter, Taily, during a routine cesarean section, but there were complications.

"Suddenly, I got called overhead. They said, 'Dr. Fleischer straight to the OR,' and I rushed up, and as soon as I got there she was already intubated, and most of the team had already arrived assessing the situation," obstetrician Dr. Michael Fleischer said.

Graupera-Cassimiro's heart stopped for 45 minutes after amniotic fluid entered her bloodstream and heart and created a vacuum, stopping circulation.

"I was dead," Graupera-Cassimiro told ABC News. "My husband tells me, 'You were gray. You were cold as ice, and you were dead. You had no color in your lips.'"

Medical workers used shock paddles and chest compressions for three hours throughout the emergency to try and restore heart beat and circulation, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Spokesman Thomas Chakurda said.

The family was eventually called in to say their goodbyes. Chakurda says the doctors were preparing to pronounce her death when a blip on a monitor indicated a heartbeat.

"We were all holding hands and praying and one of the nurses came out of the OR and said, 'Don't stop praying, her heart has started to beat on its own,'" primary nurse Julie Ewing said.

The last thing Graupera-Cassimiro says she remembers is being wheeled into the recovery room after the C-section and asking someone for a tissue because her nose felt stuffy. She said it felt like she'd fallen asleep.

"I remember feeling a force telling me, 'You're not coming here. This is not your time, you know, you're not supposed to be here, you're going to wait a while, but you're not staying here,'" Graupera-Cassimiro said. "I really didn't know I died, by the way, I had no clue, that's why when I woke up, to me no time had passed. I saw my whole family, but when I started seeing my family from Miami, I was like, 'Oh something must have gone wrong, like why is she here, my aunts?' I was like, 'Wow this is weird. I talked to her. She said she wasn't going to see me till Saturday,'" she said.

Chakurda says Graupera-Cassimiro's survival is a story of two miracles - her resuscitation and the fact that she survived without serious brain damage despite going for so long without a pulse.

Graupera-Cassimiro said that the experience has taught her not to be afraid of death.

"I realize through all of this that one, we really don't really have control of our lives," she said. "The day you go is the day that you were destined to go."

[NYer]

Ping!

[PrairieLady2]

I’ve known of women to die from that complication. Some survival stories are just amazing!

[Brother Cracker]

[Veto!]

Gone until prayer called her back.

Amazing story. No drama, so matter of fact.

[4Runner]

Why does all the weird stuff happen in Floriduh?

[FamiliarFace]

“I realize through all of this that one, we really don’t really have control of our lives,” she said. “The day you go is the day that you were destined to go.”

Beautiful and simple!

[JudyinCanada]

I am confused. It says she was dead for 45 minutes, but it also says they worked on her for 3 hours. Is there something I’m missing?

[Cruz_West_Paul2016]

maybe she saw the ghost of al gore and woke up in utter fear?

[Bigg Red]

I wondered about the 45 minutes vs. 3 hours, as well....

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

It happens in other places. My mom was burned, died, then came back. She never told anyone what she experienced till many years later, but she was very religious after that.

I guess one must experience it for themselves to really believe.

[lee martell]

Good that she was revived, but she must find a good cardiologist asap. Her health will remain unstable for a long time. This was but a warning.

[Ann Archy]

Good freaking grief!!!

[Psalm 73]

"You're not coming here. This is not your time, you know, you're not supposed to be here, you're going to wait a while, but you're not staying here"

I hope they meant "just not now" when they said "you're not coming here".

Because I know where I'm going when I go.
Do y'all have that certainty? If not, you can....

[Mathews]

Time is short and hell is hot y’all. I’m getting straight with Him everyday.

[elcid1970]

Near-death survivors often recall being asked `by the Light’ if their work on this Earth is done. When they say `no, I still have so much left to do’, they are told, “Then you had better go back & finish your tasks” and they re-emerge into consciousness.

[SamAdams76]

I hope the day I am destined to go is not a day that I have a lot of earthly activities planned. If I have a busy day ahead of me, I wish to finish it out.

[FunkyZero]

I had a (somewhat) similar experience about 25 years ago, I was revived after an unknown amount of time (minutes) when a drug reaction shut me off. I don’t remember any of it or even being aware that I had gone unconscious. Sort of like missing time. The Almighty had me in the care of professionals and I still thank him every day for it 25 years later. They do his work every single day.

[LadyDoc]

I had assumed she had an arrhythmia, and I’ve done CPR for two hours and gotten the patient back when that was the cause.

But Amniotic fluid embolism? Are they sure? That is highly fatal, and survivors of smaller embolism often have clotting problems.

IF true, it’s a miracle.

[Cementjungle]

I am confused. It says she was dead for 45 minutes, but it also says they worked on her for 3 hours. Is there something I’m missing?

45 mins was the actual time, and 3 hours is the billable time.