A Florida mother survived without a pulse for 45 minutes after giving birth and experiencing complications from a routine cesarean section, according to The Sun-Sentinel.
The family of Ruby Graupera-Cassimiro was called into the operating room by the doctor who told them there was nothing more they could do for the 40-year-old mother.
Graupera-Cassimiro "went from talking to being unconscious," while recovering from giving birth in a room at the hospital's Toppel Family Place, said anesthesiologist Dr. Jordan Knurr.
Graupera-Cassimiro had just given birth to a healthy daughter before amniotic fluid entered her bloodstream and heart and created a vacuum, stopping circulation, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Doctors revealed that the condition is often fatal, and a group of more than a dozen doctors and nurses worked for hours to revive her. They had no immediate explanation for her survival.
Medical workers used shock paddles and chest compressions throughout the emergency to try and restore heartbeat and circulation, and right before pronouncing her dead, a blip came up on the monitor, signaling life.
Despite going 45 minutes without a pulse, she suffered no brain damage, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The baby was not harmed, and is being nursed by her healthy mother.
"I don't know why I was given this opportunity," Graupera-Cassimiro said. "But I'm very grateful for it."
Graupera-Cassimiro said she woke up in intensive care thinking she was waking up from her C-section. She remembered having a dream where she met the spirit of her father who told her it was not her time.
