Daijiworld Media Network - Bareilly

Bareilly, Mar 11: In a startling incident from Uttar Pradesh, a 50-year-old woman who had been declared brain dead reportedly regained consciousness after the ambulance carrying her hit a pothole on the highway.

The woman, Vineeta Shukla, had been discharged from a hospital in Bareilly after doctors said she had little chance of survival. While her family was taking her home, the ambulance travelling on the National Highway 74 reportedly hit a large pothole near Hafizganj, causing a strong jolt that shook the vehicle.

According to her husband Kuldeep Kumar Shukla, Vineeta suddenly began breathing normally after the impact.

“I had told my family to prepare for the last rites as she was not breathing properly and her heartbeat was fading,” he told the Times of India. “But after the ambulance hit the pothole, her breathing returned to normal.”

The shocked family immediately cancelled the cremation preparations and rushed her to Neurocity Hospital in Pilibhit for further treatment.

Doctors there provided critical care, and after nearly two weeks of treatment, Vineeta was able to return home.

Dr Rakesh Singh, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, said earlier reports from the Bareilly hospital indicated that Vineeta had no brainstem reflexes and was completely unresponsive. Her score on the Glasgow Coma Scale had reportedly dropped to 3, compared to the normal score of 15, and her pupils showed mydriasis, or dilation.

However, further tests conducted in Pilibhit detected heavy neurotoxins in her bloodstream and lymphatic system, which doctors believe may have played a role in her condition.

Vineeta, who works as a senior assistant in the copy section at the judicial courts in Pilibhit, had collapsed at her home on February 22 and was later referred to the Bareilly hospital for treatment.

Her husband said she has now “conquered death” and is speaking normally with family members.