Brazilian man 'comes back from the dead' after funeral home realise he is still breathing while preparing 'body' for the wake

UK Daily Mail ^ | 05/19/2026 | PERKIN AMALARAJ

[DFG]

A Brazilian man has 'come back from the dead' after a funeral home realised he was still breathing as they prepared his body for his wake.

Juraci Rosa Alves was admitted to a hospital on May 16, where a doctor declared him dead due to respiratory failure.

A funeral home was then called and Alves, 88, was transported there for standard post-death procedures.

But while staff were preparing the body for the wake, they detected signs of life. Jacqueline Brogiato, the funeral home's technical nursing supervisor, told local media: 'Our funeral staff carried out the transfer as a standard procedure.

'When they arrived at the laboratory and placed him on the table, they noticed unusual movement in the abdomen and were unsure whether it was breathing.

'At first, when we realised there were vital signs, our only thought was to save him.

'So I carried out the initial care, trying to clear his airway until emergency services arrived.

'Everything happened very quickly – when they arrived, the doctor immediately began sedating and intubating him so he could be taken to the healthcare facility.'

Alves was rushed to a hospital in Presidente Prudente, Brazil, where he remained as of the latest update on May 18.

A relative told local media: 'My aunt had gone home to prepare the paperwork and the clothes my grandad was going to wear for the wake.

'When they arrived there, my aunt and my cousin thought the delay seemed strange.

'Then my cousin was told he had been taken to the funeral home to prepare the body and, once there, the funeral home staff noticed vital signs – he was breathing and moving.'

Police were informed and have registered the case as 'failure to provide assistance'.

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TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: brazil; juracialves; presidenteprudente

[DFG]

Mark Twain's actual quote in 1897 : "The report of my death was an exaggeration"

He did not say "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated".

[Blood of Tyrants]

I have read that Elanor Roosevelt had a deep fear of being buried alive and asked her children to slit her wrists to ensure she was actually dead.

[fireman15]

[Tell It Right]

Coming to a Canadian clinic near you.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Good occasion to reprint some lyrics from the best song ever about rising from the dead at a wake.

Mickey Maloney lowered his head
And a bottle of whiskey flew at him
Missed, and fallin’ on the bed
The liquor scattered over Tim

Tim revives! See how he rises!
Timothy risin’ from the bed
Sayin’: “Whirl your liquor around like blazes
Thunderin’ Jaysus! Do you think I’m dead?”

Whack fol-the-dah, oh dance to your partner
Welt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn’t it the truth I told ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan’s wake

[no2daylightsavings]

of course if she was alive when that happened she would be dead anyways.....

[Blogatron]

Makes me wonder how many people have been killed by embalming fluid.

[Bigg Red]

I had that song in my head just yesterday.

[Señor Presidente]

“killed by embalming fluid.”

Probably more common in countries and times with relaxed medical sign offs.

If you ain’t dead when you arrive, you are when you leave. :/

[Salamander]

Paging Edgar Allen Poe….

[HartleyMBaldwin]

“First make sure he’s actually dead.”
BANG!
“OK, what next?”

[Magnum44]

[Bob434]

Zombie powder or tetrodotoxin? One of the huge fears folks have is being declared dead, then buried- and not being dead at all- they used to use bells on top of grave with string into the casket just incase it happened-

[Vaduz]

A Brazilian man has ‘come back from the dead finds will om table and lawyers phone number..........

[AlaskaErik]

Reminds me of that Brazilian gag stunt where a coffin is loaded onto an elevator with an unsuspecting person. The people who loaded the coffin into the elevator conveniently missed going up. Along the way the elevator stops, the lights go out momentarily and the “corpse” comes to life, freaking out the unsuspecting rider. The video is still floating around on YouTube.

[right way right]

A wake is to ensure deadness.
Didn't pass the deadness test.
If you embalm before the Wake you're not doing it right.