Pregnant woman dies, gives birth, comes back to life


Recommended Posts

MISSOURI CITY, TX (KPRC/CNN) - When a pregnant teacher in Texas collapsed, her coworkers rushed to help. The woman technically died, gave birth, and then was brought back to life.

Erica Nigrelli, an English teacher at Elkins High School, collapsed in a co-worker's classroom when she was 36 weeks pregnant.

"Apparently I told her I feel very faint and I put my head down and I essentially just passed out," Erica Nigrelli said.

Erica's husband, Nathan, is also a teacher at Elkins.

"I opened the door and walked in and Erica was laying on the floor," he said.

Erica Nigrelli's heart had stopped. Some co-workers started CPR and used a defibrillator to get it working again. They kept her alive until paramedics came and rushed her to the hospital.

Doctors delivered baby Elayna by emergency caesarean section. It was technically a post mortem delivery because Erica's heart wasn't beating.

"There were two lives that were hanging in the balance the whole time."

Erica Nigrelli had an undetected heart defect, and the fact mom and baby are here today is a testament to her co-workers.

June Tomlin, Maxine Reeves and Jennifer Longoria were honored at a Missouri City council meeting.

"Thankful is not even- is not a strong enough word for what they've done for us."

Erica Nigrelli is only 32 years old, but doctors installed a pacemaker.

Three-month-old Elayna now weighs a whopping 9 pounds, and could be off oxygen as early as next week.

source & video

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.