It sounds like something out of a science-fiction movie, but it's not: A woman by the name of Timesha Beauchamp had been declared dead by authorities this weekend, even though she wasn't truly dead. Or the 20-year-old woman managed to somehow come back to life.
Timesha is a Black woman with special needs. She was found lifeless at a home in Southfield, Michigan, on Saturday. Her family called 911 after finding her unresponsive. According to the Southfield Fire Department's statement to WDIV, she was not breathing, and paramedics tried to resuscitate her to no avail. They performed CPR and other "life-reviving methods" for about a half an hour.
It was determined that Timesha had no signs of life. She was declared dead on the scene. At that point, a doctor at a nearby hospital made the call, pronouncing her dead via phone. It sounds a bit strange, but Bill Mullan, a spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office, told People that it's a standard procedure to send reports back to the hospital in order for the doctor to give instructions to those on the scene.
The fire department contacted the medical examiner's office, but then things took a weird turn. The forensic pathologist on duty determined that Timesha was dead and that no further examination was needed. It was decided that her body could be released to her family. Timesha's body was taken to a funeral home.
Then the funeral home got a huge surprise. Staff at the James H. Cole Home for Funerals realized she wasn't dead at all. They unzipped the body bag to find that her eyes were open. She was also breathing. The staff quickly called emergency medical services, and she was taken to a hospital where she could get proper medical care.
It's hard to imagine something like this could happen. But there have been some cases of people waking up after being pronounced dead. Some people have woken up in the morgue or, like Timesha, in funeral homes. Either way, it's pretty frightening to imagine that it's even possible.
Obviously, Timesha's family is livid about what happened, and they are seeking answers. They've since hired attorney Geoffrey Fieger. "They were about to embalm her which is most frightening had she not had her eyes open," he said. "They would have begun draining her blood to be very, very frank about it."
The good news is that Timesha is alive. But her family says the time she wasn't receiving medical care could impact her severely, possibly even for the rest of her life. There was about an hour and a half that passed from the time she was pronounced dead until making it to the hospital. She's now in critical condition and on a ventilator.
Her family definitely has a case, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. "It's one of people's worst nightmares to imagine having an ambulance called and instead, sending you off to a funeral home in a body bag. The funeral home unzipping the body bag, literally, that's what happened to Timesha, and seeing her alive with her eyes open," said Fieger.
It's certainly frightening, but cases like this are extremely rare. In this case, it seems like there was a fair amount of negligence, but it's hard to say for sure. Sometimes, the body does miraculous things. Other times, perhaps a person just needs a closer and more thorough examination. However, many people feel that Timesha was ignored because she is a Black woman with special needs.
We don't know many of the details surrounding what happened to Timesha to begin with or why she was unresponsive. Her family wants people to know that she's a beautiful and loving person, though. They are obviously outraged that this happened to her.
There is clearly a lot more that needs to be uncovered in this case. The fire chief said, "The patient was again determined to have expired and the body was released directly to the family to make arrangements with a funeral home of their choosing," the chief said in a statement.
Still, it's all pretty astounding.
Hopefully, Timesha will make a miraculous recovery and be back with her family soon. As for now, her family is still desperate for the answers they deserve.
One miracle already took place when Timesha was found breathing. Now they're hoping for one more to get her back home.
