One wife had the most dreadful start to the new year after she lost her husband. However, days later she realized her tears were spent for nothing.
According to the Daily Mail, Victoria Sarmiento was informed that her husband Julio passed away of coronavirus on 30 December 2020. The woman from El Carmen, Honduras, was then asked to identify the body. Soon after, the body was released by the staff at the local hospital.
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Representational Image | Source: Getty Images (Photo by Philippe Lissac /GODONG)
Subsequently, the grieving woman made arrangements for her husband's last rites. She transported her husband's body to her village in the western municipality of San Nicolas, Copan for the funeral services. The death saddened everyone close to Julio. Victoria sat along with her other distressed relatives all night long and grieved the loss of Julio.
The following day, the family was all set to bid their final farewell to Julio. However, his children felt something was wrong when they saw their father in the open coffin. They doubted if it was really their father. Despite having second thoughts, the family went ahead with the burial. Victoria spent over $430 (£320) on the rituals.
Representational Image | Source: Getty Images (Photo by RubberBall Productions)
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The days that followed were filled with pain and sadness. Victoria could not believe her husband was gone. But to her surprise, her husband came home just four days after the funeral.
Immediately, the woman realized she had buried the wrong person. "That wasn't my husband who died, because I have my husband here now. I recognized him," the wife told Hondura's LaPrensa newspaper, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
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Julio claimed he had been missing for few days since he fell over at a spot in the neighboring municipality during a walk. With no one to help, the man was forced to stay there without food or water.
Meanwhile, Victoria was shocked. She and her family have no idea whom they were grieving for. "I would like them to give me back some of what I spent because they gave me the body of someone I don't know. The authorities at the morgue should have properly examined him to see if it was really him."
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Though Victoria blamed the authorities, the hospital said it was her who misidentified her own husband. The medical facility stated that the man who was buried arrived with Covid-19 on 27 December, 2020. They added that he died within a few hours of being admitted.
"The instruction of the Municipal Emergency Committee is to leave a patient who dies from Covid in cold rooms for six days in case a family member appears. Then the wife appears, bringing his identity card, recognizes him, and says he's her husband," said Juan Carlos Cardona, the director of the hospital.
Cardona added, "With the correct security protocols the plastic bag was opened and she said that it was him. That's why the body was released to her. The logical thing was to bring the body back so we could investigate. But later the relatives called back and said he was the right person after all and they were going to bury him. We have everything documented. We even have an apology from one of the children, if this becomes a lawsuit."
