What is cerebral edema? 3-year-old wakes up at her own funeral after being pronounced dead, dies hours later 

A 3-year-old girl in Mexico woke up during her own funeral but later died due to cerebral edema, which is the medical term for "brain swelling".

Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza suffered from symptoms of vomiting, stomach pain, and fever last month. Her parents took her to the Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community Hospital, where she was prescribed medication.

However, Camila's health did not improve after coming back home, leading her to visit the hospital for a second time.

Sadly, the little girl was pronounced dead after her second visit, but somehow showed signs of life during her funeral. Her family rushed back to the hospital but Camila could not be saved.

Fox News reports that the family has now sued the Salinas de Hidalgo Basic Community Hospital, demanding the replacement of the doctors and nurses who treated Camila.

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Camila's mother noticed fog on the casket glass at her daughter's funeral

According to El Universal San Luis Potosí, Camila was taken to the hospital on August 17, while suffering from flu-like symptoms. Her mother, Mary Jane Peralta, informed the media that the doctor prescribed Camila paracetamol and directed them to take her home.

However, her health did not improve and a private doctor asked them to re-admit the kid to the hospital.

Camila's mom accused the hospital staff of neglecting the child, saying that they took a long time to give her oxygen and administer her with the IV fluid.

Mary told the news:

"They didn’t put it (IV fluid) on her because they couldn’t find her little veins. Finally, a nurse managed it."

According to reports, doctors removed the IV fluid just 10 minutes after putting it on Camila and took her away in a separate room. Mary told a local newspaper:

"She still was hugging me, they took her away and told me, ‘You have to let her rest in peace."

The child was later announced dead, with dehydration listed as the cause of death.

The next day at Camila's funeral, Mary noticed condensation on her daughter's casket cover. She mentioned it to her family and indicated that the kid might be breathing. Sadly, her opinions were dismissed by the people present at the funeral. They reasoned that she was hallucinating in grief.

However, Camila's grandmother also noticed the child's eyes making movements, and alerted everyone at the funeral.

The family then rushed Camila to the hospital. Mary said her daughter had a pulse rate of 97 beats per minute at the funeral, which dropped to 35 beats per minute in the ambulance.

After reaching the hospital, the child was pronounced dead a second time, and this time the cause of death was said to be cerebral edema or brain swelling.

The San Luis Potosí State Attorney General's Office is investigating the case. Meanwhile, Mary has demanded the removal of the medical staff who treated Camila. She said:

"I have no grudge against the doctors [who] went to extreme [measures]. I only ask that the doctors, nurses and directors be changed so that it does not happen again."

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What is Cerebral Edema?

Cerebral edema or brain swelling is a deadly condition that causes fluid to fill in the brain. The fluid exerts pressure on the brain, causing a decline in the oxygen reaching it. This can prove to be fatal for the patient, causing memory loss, seizures, loss of consciousness, and sometimes death.

Cerebral edema can be caused due to multiple reasons like traumatic brain injury, stroke, infection, tumors, high altitude, unhealthy use of drugs, viral infections, carbon monoxide poisoning and bites from poisonous animals, reptiles, or some marine animals.

It is difficult to diagnose the condition without proper testing. Patients have to go through a CT scan or MRI screening to locate any kind of swelling in the brain.

Once the swelling is located, doctors can choose to treat it in numerous ways. Medication and hyperventilating can help reduce swelling in some cases, while more serious cases might require surgery.