Girl, 11, Reportedly Revives 20 Hours After Death Ruling
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — An 11-year-old girl came alive 20 hours after doctors pronounced her dead and as surgeons prepared to remove her vital organs for transplants, her foster parents say.
“It’s a miracle, we couldn’t believe it. We dropped to our knees and thanked God,” said Michelle Oelofse, the girl’s foster mother, said Wednesday.
Doctors had declared Shireen Lockem dead at Frere Hospital in the east coast city of East London Monday. She had been unconscious since being hit by a car on Aug. 9.
Foster parents Kasper and Michelle Oelofse said they were preparing for her funeral Tuesday when doctors told them she was alive.
Her body had been kept on life support to preserve vital organs.
“Minutes before the doctors started the operation, a nurse noticed Shireen’s fingers moving . . . the doctors couldn’t believe it” and restarted the support systems, Shireen’s mother said.
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