Back from the dead to words ‘I love you’

A FORMER nurse regained consciousness 45 minutes after she was pronounced dead – just as her husband said he loved her for what he thought was the last time.

Lorna Baillie, 49, suffered a massive heart attack at home in Prestonpans, East Lothian, on 10 February, and was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after paramedics failed to revive her.

Her husband John and Mrs Baillie’s son and three daughters rushed to her bedside when doctors said she was “technically dead”, only to watch her regain consciousness 45 minutes later.

The family called for help, and hospital staff moved Mrs Baillie to the intensive care ward where she has made a rapid recovery after her brush with death, sitting up and high-fiving her husband and children.

Mrs Baillie’s eldest daughter, Leanne Porteous, 31, said: “At one point my dad said, ‘Lorna, come back, I love you’. And then, just like that, she was there again.”

Mrs Baillie’s recovery has raised questions about the hospital’s haste in pronouncing her dead, a move that could have left the grandmother waking up in a mortuary.

Despite repeated questions from Ms Porteous as to whether her mother’s appearance and actions were normal in a woman who was supposedly deceased, nurses said a combination of CPR and adrenaline could cause “involuntary movements”.

Mrs Baillie’s colouring improved, her eyelids flickered, and she squeezed her daughter’s hand before a doctor was called, but even then it was only when a pulse was found that she was considered still alive.

Ms Porteous said: “I asked the nurse if it was normal that she squeezed my hand and that she had opened her eyes and she said it was.

“We are so close as a family and we are not the kind of people to just give up. We were telling my mum to be strong. I kept saying to her, ‘Come back, Mum, come back’.”

NHS Lothian has since pledged to provide extra training to staff to avoid any repeat of the incident.

Mrs Baillie underwent three hours of treatment at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary between collapsing at 4:20pm and being pronounced dead at 8:45pm. The event of her recovery was described as “extremely rare” by David Farquharson, medical director at NHS Lothian.

Dr Farquharson said: “Mrs Baillie was rushed to the accident and emergency department of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after suffering a heart attack in her own home.

“This type of recovery is extremely rare and she was immediately transferred into critical care for further treatment.

“She has been transferred on to another ward now and is continuing to make progress.

Dr Farquharson went on to explain: “She had undergone resuscitation for some time before and after arrival and it was unlikely that she would survive because her vital functions had deteriorated so badly.

“Her family were told to prepare for the worst and were allowed time with her, but when Mrs Baillie was checked again her vital signs had returned – she had a strong pulse, strong breathing and colour had returned to her skin.”