The Texas teacher was 36 weeks pregnant and in class when she passed out, her heart stopped, her baby was delivered and she was brought back to life.
The day’s events
Erica Nigrelli, a high school teacher, collapsed in a coworker’s classroom as she was nearing the final weeks of her pregnancy.
“Apparently I told her I feel very faint and I put my head down and I essentially just passed out,” Erica Nigrelli told Fox Las Vegas.
Her husband also works at the school and was called to his wife’s side. He quickly grabbed his phone and called 911.
“My wife is pregnant,” he said, his breath heavy with panic. “She’s having a seizure! The baby’s due in three weeks!”
Her coworkers started CPR, keeping her alive until help arrived. Doctors delivered her baby girl by an emergency caesarean section. At the time, her heart wasn’t being, meaning Erica Nigrelli was dead. The birth was considered a postmortem birth.
Nigrelli is revived
Doctors were able to get Nigrelli’s heart to start beating and soon found an undiagnosed heart defect that Niegrelli never knew she had. She spent five days in a medically induced comma, but was treated for her heart condition and was able to go home with her baby girl, Elayna, weeks later.
“We feel great,” Nathan Nigrelli told CNN. “We have a wonderful baby. My wife is back to 100 percent.”
The couple was able to joke about the entire experience saying they have one heck of a story to tell their daughter some day.
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