When a nurse touched a dying man’s hand while attempting to take an expensive ring off him, she shrieked in fear.
For almost three years, Nurse Anna had been employed in the morgue. She had been used to everything in that time: the cold stench, the quiet, the death’s lack of concern. But as time went on, it became increasingly obvious that this employment would not lead to financial success. While her pay barely covered food and room rental, Anna’s dreams included owning a home and traveling to places she had only ever seen in pictures.
However, if she kept up her honest efforts, these dreams were not supposed to come true. Thus, Anna started stealing—a move that was meant to remain secret.
It was from people who would never wake up again, not from coworkers or the hospital. Individuals frequently wore pricey watches, rings, chains, or jewelry when they arrived to the morgue.
occasionally even with automobile keys or wallets. Because they were so horrified by the death initially, relatives seldom ever noticed anything missing. Furthermore, nobody at the morgue could provide a specific response, even if they did recall specifics.
This turned into “easy money” for Anna. And a man of around thirty-five showed up at the morgue one day. Cardiac arrest was the cause of death. He was young, not yet elderly, and obviously from a wealthy family because of his costly, well-groomed clothing. Anna was particularly drawn to the gold ring on his ring finger, though. Clearly not a cheap trinket, it is thick, huge, and has a muted brilliance.
“It must be costly,” she reasoned.
She made the decision to hold off. Anna and the man were alone in the evening after the orderly had brought the gurney to the next room and the on-duty doctor had left. She was aware that the cameras in this section of the mortuary had not functioned for a considerable amount of time due to a malfunctioning wiring system that had not been fixed.
Leaning over the man, she took one step closer. His expression was serene, as though he were just sleeping. However, Anna had witnessed hundreds of these “sleepers”; to her, he was an object rather than a person. She extended her hand and cautiously attempted to take off the ring.
The man had a warm hand.
She paled as she withdrew her fingers. Unbelieving what was occurring, she stood for a few seconds. Her mind was racing with ideas: “This can’t be… People who are dead are not warm. I must be wrong. It’s simply my nerves.
The inner voice, however, would not be quieted. She stroked his wrist once more, trembling, pressing her fingers to his pulse this time.
The pulse. Very faint, hardly perceptible, yet a pulse.
Anna took a quick step back and covered her mouth to avoid yelling. The man was alive, and she felt lightheaded.
He would have been presumed dead and his body would have been placed on the pathologist’s table the next day if she hadn’t attempted to take off the ring.
The seconds seemed to drag on forever. Anna came to the realization that she had just saved a man’s life by stealing. She called the doctor and ran for assistance.
It was later found that the man had experienced a deep, drowsy slumber, which is an uncommon occurrence. Even an experienced doctor had assumed he was dead because his respiration was nearly undetectable, his heart had slowed to an extreme.
However, the man survived because of Anna’s fateful and illegal conduct.
And only she was aware that her avarice, not her diligence, was the cause of this amazing recovery.
