Sadness hung heavy in the air at the Santos household. Just the day before, 2-year-old Kelvin Santos had been hospitalized for pneumonia. Everyone had expected the doctors and nurses to be able to make the little boy better, but they hadn’t....CONTINUE READING
And Antonio Santos, Kelvin’s father, was heartbroken. He thought the doctors wouldn’t have any problems healing his son, but when they told him he’d passed away, his whole world had shattered.
Beyond that, his poor son had been handed back over to him in a plastic bag. Antonio was in shock at the indignity of it all. Despite not having much money, he vowed to give his son the sendoff he deserved.
So, he held a vigil for Kelvin that evening since he wanted everyone to be able to say their final goodbyes to the child. His coffin was kept open, and more and more people gathered at the Santos’ house throughout the evening, ready to pay their respects. The funeral was due to take place the next day.
It was a long night full of tears and sadness, but Antonio and his wife tried to keep happy memories of their little boy in their minds too. They shared stories of what a happy child he was and all the games he loved to play.
But soon it was time to prepare for the funeral. Antonio and his wife gave their son one final kiss goodbye. They couldn’t face being the ones to close the coffin lid on their son forever, so a relative stepped in to do it for them.
But just before Antonio turned away, he noticed the strangest thing: Kelvin’s mouth was moving. He immediately turned around and screamed at his relative to leave the lid open because his precious son was still alive.
However, he didn’t get the reactions he hoped for. Instead of cheering and rushing to check on the boy, his wife and the rest of their family just looked at him with pity. They all knew how much Kelvin had meant to Antonio and thought his grief was causing him to hallucinate.
And when Antonio looked at his son again, he himself started doubting his own eyes. Kelvin had been the light of his life. Was his mind truly playing tricks on him out of grief?
He didn’t know. What he did know was that his son shouldn’t have died like that. Up until 3 days earlier, Kelvin had been just like any other 2-year-old boy—cheeky, inquisitive, and loved to play games. The Santos family didn’t have a lot of money, but they loved their little boy with all their hearts and did the very best they could for him.
But when Kelvin got a cough, things quickly took a turn for the worst. Antonio had been up all night with his son. His cough had gotten worse, and the little boy was struggling to breathe, making wheezing noises every time he managed to take a shallow breath in. Antonio knew this wasn’t just any normal cough, so he decided to take his son to the hospital.
It didn’t take long for the doctors to work out that the little boy had contracted pneumonia. The doctors reassured the family that they would do all they could to help the little boy.
Although Antonio knew that pneumonia was serious, he felt sure that his son was in the right place to get all the help he needed. He never expected to hear bad news, but shortly after they arrived at the hospital, Kelvin’s breathing became even more labored.
Antonio could tell from the look on the doctors’ faces that even they were worried. Suddenly, a nurse explained that Kelvin had actually stopped breathing and that he needed resuscitation.
The family was told it was for the best if they went to the waiting room, so they left their little boy in the hands of the doctors. Panic had overtaken them, and Antonio couldn’t do anything but pace back and forth in the waiting room.
Their little boy had been in very bad shape; there was no denying that. But how had he suddenly stopped breathing? Each minute that passed felt like an hour, and no matter who Antonio spoke to, no one could tell him what was happening.
He was becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of communication. He deserved to know what was happening to his son.
Just 15 minutes had passed since Kelvin had been rushed away for resuscitation, but it seemed like a lifetime. When Antonio saw one of the doctors approaching, he immediately began to ask questions.
But when he was told to sit down, the poor father sensed that the news would not be good. The doctor explained that they tried their best to revive Kelvin and get the little boy breathing again, but they’d been unable to resuscitate him.
Antonio couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Just a few hours ago, he’d been holding his son in his arms, and now he was dead. He questioned the doctor over and over, begging him to keep trying, saying that 15 minutes wasn’t long enough. But the doctor dismissed the heartbroken father and left the couple crying in the waiting room.
Shortly after receiving the news, Antonio was handed a plastic bag and was told it contained Kelvin’s body. He was outraged.
He knew the hospital was desperately underfunded, but to be given his son’s body in a plastic bag with very little compassion from the doctors and nurses was completely unacceptable. Shock and grief made him keep quiet, but deep down, he had a feeling that something just wasn’t right.
In just 15 short minutes, his son had stopped breathing and then was declared dead. The hospital staff had been cold and callous to a family clearly in distress. But now wasn’t the time to focus on those issues.
Antonio needed to properly say goodbye to his son. Despite not having much money, Antonio knew he needed to give his son a much more dignified sendoff than what he’d received at the hospital.
He removed his son’s body from the cheap plastic bag and gently laid him in the car before heading home. For the entire journey, Antonio and his wife sat in silence, tears quietly rolling down their faces.
When he’d received the news of his son’s death, he’d phoned his family, who had all been nervously waiting to hear what was happening. He had arranged for a vigil to be held that evening where everyone could properly say their goodbyes to Kelvin, who would be placed in an open coffin.
Feeling numb, Antonio drove back home to prepare for the vigil before his son would be buried the next day. Friends, neighbors, and family all gathered at the Santos’ house to say their goodbyes to Kelvin.
Everyone was in shock that the little boy had passed away so suddenly. It didn’t feel real that he was gone, but seeing Kelvin lying peacefully in his small coffin confirmed their worst fears—he really was gone.
The house already felt different. The home that had once been filled with the sound of laughter from the little boy was now filled with sadness.
The night passed by in a blur for Kelvin’s parents. They were overwhelmed with sadness but also wanted to remember all the happy times they’d had with their little boy. So when people began sharing memories of Kelvin, they sat and listened to all of the wonderful tales.
Before they knew it, it was time to start preparing for the funeral. It was time to do the hardest thing they’d ever done—say one last goodbye to their little boy.
When that flicker of movement caught Antonio’s eye, he felt the weight of the world crash on him again. Everybody tried to convince him his mind was just playing tricks on him. There was no way his dead son had moved his mouth.
Trying to think rationally, he justified that he was sleep-deprived and consumed by grief. But Antonio wasn’t the only one looking at Kelvin’s body curiously. The boy’s aunt was also approaching the coffin. As she got closer, Antonio looked at his sister. She explained that she knew it sounded crazy; she was sure she’d seen Kelvin’s hands move.
Antonio shook his head in disbelief as he told her he was sure he’d seen the boy’s mouth move. And as if he had heard his father speak once again, Kelvin’s lips began to move as if he was trying to say something.
Antonio and his sister looked at each other, eyes wide open with shock. There was no denying what they’d both just witnessed—Kelvin’s mouth was definitely moving.
Without warning, the little boy sat up in the coffin and asked, “Daddy, can I have some water?” Antonio couldn’t believe he was hearing his son’s voice again.
The doctors had declared him dead, and yet it was like he’d just been asleep. As people slowly registered what had happened, screams began to ring out around the house. As the little boy laid back down in his coffin, Antonio rushed over to his son, holding on to him. It was a miracle—Kelvin was alive.
The grieving father couldn’t believe it. However, his joy was short-lived as he noticed his son had stopped moving again. Antonio desperately tried to revive him, but the boy’s body was lifeless once again.
Convinced that his son was still alive and that there had to be some sort of explanation as to what was happening, Antonio informed everyone that he was stopping the funeral and taking Kelvin to the hospital.
The drive seemed to take forever, but the whole time, Antonio clung to the hope that his son was still alive. Dead people didn’t just sit up and speak like Kelvin had done.
Beyond some sort of miracle, Antonio couldn’t explain what was happening, but he hadn’t been the only one to see Kelvin move. The doctors must have gotten it wrong somehow, and Antonio was desperate for answers.
Back in the hospital, he hurriedly explained to the staff what had just happened. He knew from the odd looks he was getting that no one believed him. He tried to make them understand that Kelvin needed to be examined again before it was too late. Reluctantly, a doctor agreed to take a look at the boy.
This time, Antonio insisted on being present for the examination, as he didn’t want the doctors to make another mistake. The little boy was placed in a hospital bed, and the doctor began to check his heart rate and breathing. But when he shook his head, Antonio knew what he was going to say—the doctor explained that Kelvin really was dead.
He offered no explanation for what had happened at home and advised Antonio to go back and carry on with the boy’s funeral. Antonio felt like he’d lost his son twice. It was clear that the doctors didn’t believe him. Now, he had no choice but to accept that Kelvin was dead.
Antonio wasn’t the only one who had been clinging to hope that the little boy was alive, though. Back at home, everyone waited for him to return with good news. They said prayers and thanked God for the miracle that had happened that morning. So when Antonio carried his son’s lifeless body back to the coffin, everyone was shocked.
Reluctantly, the family agreed that the funeral would still go ahead, a little later than originally planned. They were all in a state of shock. In less than 24 hours, they lost their son, only for him to come back to life and then die again. And the doctors didn’t even believe them.
In the days that followed, Antonio’s grief was overcome by anger. From the first moment they’d stepped in the hospital, he felt like they’d been treated with very little respect.
He recalled how they had been asked to leave their son’s room and how his body was handed over in a plastic bag. He remembered the disbelieving looks he’d gotten when he’d returned with Kelvin to say he’d sat up and spoken.
The more he processed what had happened, the angrier he became. He was sure that something had gone wrong at the hospital. A fit and healthy little boy surely didn’t just die from pneumonia over the course of 15 minutes.
And why was no one willing to believe that the boy had come back to life? Something didn’t add up for Antonio, and he decided that it would be a dishonor to his son if he didn’t do something about it.
After talking to his wife about his suspicions, they agreed to contact the police to register a complaint about the hospital. Antonio explained everything—from how his little boy had been rushed away for resuscitation to being told just 15 minutes later that he was dead.
He expressed a feeling that his son couldn’t have been properly examined in such a short timeframe. He explained how Kelvin had sat up and spoken, but the doctors refused to take him seriously.
Antonio finally felt like someone was listening to him. And when the police agreed to launch an investigation into the hospital, he believed he was going to get justice for his son.
The investigation would never bring Kelvin back, but Antonio just wanted the truth. Finding out what really happened at the hospital was the least he could do for his son..<<CONTINUE READING>>
