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Friday, January 25, 2008
Dead baby 'stirs,' shocks Lorega folk
By Nancy R. Cudis
CEBU CITY -- A three-month-old baby boy who died of pneumonia showed signs of life Thursday morning, his family said, before he was again declared dead at a private hospital.
Adrian Linte, the only boy among four siblings, died at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) at 2:20 p.m. last January 23. His family brought him home to their shanty in the cemetery area of Barangay Lorega, Cebu City, where his small white wooden coffin was made and a grave was prepared for him, not far from their house.
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That night, family, friends, and neighbors prayed for the dead baby boy.
However, past 9 a.m. Thursday, the neighborhood in Barangay Lorega was abuzz after Adrian reportedly grew warm, registered a pulse, and peed two times in his casket. Mimi, the mother, even breastfed the baby and rubbed him with holy water.
The situation raised Mimi's hopes and also prompted her to rush Adrian to Gaga Longakit, a folk healer, who advised her to let the baby rest at home.
Other neighbors prodded Mimi, who was restless, to rush Adrian to a hospital so that doctors can check on him.
At this time, local broadcast media reporters already heard the news and visited the neighborhood. Mimi, accompanied by a barangay health worker, rushed the baby to Perpetual Succor Hospital, with the media on her heels.
Neighbor Raul Bordador said they did not even tell the driver of the taxi, which Mimi rode, about the baby's condition.
Mimi's husband, taxi driver Alex, was at the barangay hall when the fuss began. He looked after their three other children -- Angelie, 12; Anna Marie, seven; and Anna Mae, 4-at home.
At the hospital, the baby was declared dead on arrival.
It was nearly noon when Mimi and Adrian went back home. The baby was scheduled for a blessing at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in the reclamation area at 1 p.m.
Before the coffin was closed and nailed, Mimi wrapped Adrian in thick baby clothes, powdered him, and kissed him.
After a funeral procession from the church, Adrian was buried near their shanty.
"Pagkahibalo nako nga namuwa-muwa ang bata, nalipay ko. Pero mao man na ang nahitabo, unsaon ta man? (When I heard that the baby appeared flushed, I was happy. But now that this has happened, there's nothing I can do)," said Alex, who wanted to believe the situation as a miracle.
Mimi told Sun.Star Cebu she felt the baby's pulse.
In a separate interview, Adrian's attending physician at CCMC, Dr. Jee James Maratas, explained that the peeing could be a delayed reaction to the medicine prescribed for the baby, or the result of the baby's last reflexes when relaxed.
"We provided everything. We attended to him for more or less 30 minutes. We did our best to bring him back," he said.
Maratas himself explained the death to the family, whom he described as still in the stage of denial. He said he could not attest to the reported signs of life, saying that was impossible since the baby was "already very deteriorated."
The Lintes did not push for the baby to be embalmed or undergo an autopsy.
"Even when they had doubts or speculations that the baby might still be alive, the family did not send the baby to another hospital or doctor for a second opinion. This is not a first case. There are many families who deny that their loved ones are already dead," Dr. Maratas said. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (January 25, 2008 issue)
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