Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza was a happy 3-year-old girl who dreamed of going to kindergarten.
Her family would face tragedy, though, when their little girl was declared dead from dehydration due to a “stomach bug,” according to The Sun. Only it didn’t end there.
Camila’s mother Mary would have to watch her daughter die — again.
Mary told El Universal that Camila began to show symptoms of a stomach illness such as fever and vomiting on Aug. 17.
She was taken to a pediatrician in Villa de Ramos, Mexico, who recommended that Camila be taken to a hospital to be treated for dehydration.
“I take her to the hospital. I went in with her and they take off her clothes. They put wet towels on her to lower her fever and the pulse oximeter on her finger,” Mary said, according to a translation.
“After an hour they give her to me, they tell me that she is fine. They prescribed two sachets of serum and 30 drops of paracetamol.”
But Camila’s condition didn’t improve.
Her parents then took her to a private doctor, who prescribed new medications. However, Camila continued to vomit. Between 9 and 10 p.m. she was readmitted to the hospital.
“They took a long time to put oxygen on her. They didn’t put it on her because they couldn’t find her veins. Finally, a nurse managed it,” Mary explained.
“Ten minutes later they had her with nothing and disconnected,” she continued. “I arrive and grab my baby. She still hugs me, I felt my girl’s strength. They take her away from me and tell me, ‘Let her rest in peace.’”
Camila’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Within hours, she was declared dead.
At Camila’s wake the following day, Mary noticed that a glass pane in the coffin was clouded. Others reportedly told her she was just hallucinating, but then her mother-in-law saw Camila’s eyes move.
She was still alive.
El Universal reported that the child’s heart rate was measured at 97. An ambulance was called, but as Camila was being transported to the hospital her pulse was down to 35.
When they arrived, despite the efforts of the doctors, Camila was declared dead a second time.
“That was really where my baby ended,” Mary said. “We are devastated because my girl was a very happy person. She lived with everyone, she did not distinguish people.”
Camila’s family has two death certificates for her, one that lists dehydration as the cause and a second that identifies cerebral edema as the cause.
Mary and her family want justice for Camila.
“What I really want is for justice to be done. I don’t have a grudge against the doctors,” Mary said. “I just ask that the doctors, nurses and directors be changed so that it doesn’t happen again.”
The state attorney general, José Luis Ruiz, told the media that the incident is under investigation, but Mary said she has not been contacted by authorities.
According to The Sun, Ruiz said an autopsy is also underway.
