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Doctors had thought Ruby Graupera-Cassimiro had died after giving birth to a daughter through a Caesarean operation. For 45 minutes, she had no pulse. Before officially pronouncing her dead, they told the family they could do nothing more her and asked them to say their farewells.
And then, a blip on a monitor indicated a heartbeat.
Medical officials called her survival a double miracle because she had suffered no brain damage despite going without a pulse for so long.
Graupera-Cassimiro, 40, gave birth to a healthy daughter before amniotic fluid entered her bloodstream and heart and created a vacuum, stopping circulation. Doctors say the condition is often fatal.
A team of medical workers had spent three hours trying to revive Graupera-Cassimiro. "We had called a code that lasted for three hours," said Thomas Chakurda, a spokesman for Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Medical workers used shock paddles and chest compressions, trying to restore her heart beat and circulation.
"She essentially spontaneously resuscitated when we were about to call the time of death," Mr Chakurda said.
The incident took place over a month ago, on September 23.
"Today, she is a picture of health," Mr Chakurda added, calling her survival a case of "divine providence."
A mother of two, Graupera-Cassimiro told the Associated Press that now, she has a deep appreciation for each new day, no matter how routine.