‘Brain dead’ woman in India wakes up after ambulance hits pothole

A violent jolt from driving over a pothole in India reportedly brought Vineeta Shukla (right) back to life. Photo / Krishna Chaudhary

A pothole is being hailed for bringing a “brain dead” woman back to life in India.

Doctors declared 50-year-old Vineeta Shukla effectively dead last month, with “no sign of life in her”, before discharging her from a hospital in Bareilly, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, reports The Times of India.

“I told my family to prepare for her last rites,” her husband Kuldeep Kumar Shukla told The Times. “She was not breathing, there was only a sinking heartbeat.”

The ordeal began when Vineeta, who worked in the courts as a senior assistant in the copy section, fainted at home on February 22.

She was taken to a local hospital before being referred to an advanced medical facility.

She was declared effectively “brain dead” and on February 24 was put into an ambulance to return her body home.

Her husband was with her when the vehicle hit a large pothole and the violent jolt shook her back to life.

Kuldeep Kumar said it was a miracle.

“My wife started breathing normally again... I immediately informed my family to suspend all the funeral preparations,” he told The Times.

Vineeta was then rushed to the nearby Neurocity Hospital to receive care.

“She is now not just awake, but talking to us,” the husband told the newspaper, adding it was like his wife had conquered death.

Dr Rakesh Singh, a neurosurgeon at Neurocity Hospital, looked at her medical records and said they indicated complete unresponsiveness.

“The examination of her eyes showed mydriasis [dilation of pupils], indicating the death of her brain and constantly sinking signs of life in her,” he said.

“During a series of quick medical tests, heavy neurotoxins were detected in her bloodstream and lymphatic system.”

He said further treatment once she arrived at his hospital helped in her recovery.