By Sagaya Fernando| March 13, 2026
Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA: In an extraordinary turn of events, a 50-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district who had been declared “brain-dead” by doctors showed signs of life after the ambulance carrying her home for last rites hit a pothole on a highway.
The woman, identified as Vinita Shukla, works as a head copyist at the Pilibhit district court. She had collapsed at home on February 22 while performing household chores and was rushed to a local government hospital by her husband, Kuldeep Shukla. Due to her critical condition, doctors referred her to a hospital in Bareilly for advanced treatment.
At the private hospital in Bareilly, Vinita was placed on ventilator support. According to her husband, doctors later informed the family that her condition was extremely serious and that there was little hope of survival. Kuldeep said he was told that once she was taken off the ventilator, the outcome would become clear.
Despite requesting doctors to continue treatment for another night, Kuldeep said he was again advised the next morning to take her home as her condition showed no improvement. The family in Pilibhit began preparations for her last rites as he started the journey back in an ambulance with Vinita’s body.
However, the journey took an unexpected turn near Hafizganj on the Bareilly–Haridwar National Highway (NH-74). The ambulance hit a large pothole, causing a strong jolt inside the vehicle.
Moments later, the family noticed movement in Vinita’s body. “She had stopped breathing earlier and there was only a faint heartbeat. After the jolt, she suddenly began breathing normally,” Kuldeep recalled.
The shocked family immediately rushed her to a private hospital in Pilibhit, where doctors initially hesitated to admit the patient but later examined her after repeated requests from relatives.
Dr. Rakesh Singh, a neurosurgeon who treated her, said there was suspicion that Vinita may have been affected by neurotoxins, possibly from a snake bite. Based on that possibility, doctors administered anti-venom injections along with supportive treatment.
“Within about 24 hours, her condition began to improve gradually,” Dr. Singh said, adding that she was also referred to neurology specialists in Lucknow for further evaluation.
After nearly 13 days of treatment, Vinita recovered completely and has since returned home, where she is now living a normal life.
The dramatic sequence of events—from despair and funeral preparations to recovery—has left the family describing the incident as nothing short of a miracle. Doctors, however, said timely treatment and the correct diagnosis played a crucial role in saving her life.
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