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Families Devastated After Hospital Mixes Up Identities of 2 Girls in Car Accident
Filed under: In The News
After spending nearly a week mourning her death, the family of a teenage girl found out that it was a case of mistaken identity, and she was actually alive. Now the two young women's families are trying to make sense of the tragedy.
Abby Guerra, 19, and Marlena Cantu, 21, were driving back from Disneyland with three other friends when their SUV had a blowout and they got into a car crash. The Guerras were told Abby had died at the scene, but six days later they were told Abby was alive and in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital, "The Early Show" reports.
The Cantu family spent days at the hospital, with the young woman whom they believed was Marlena.
"We were there all week ... day and night," Frank Cantu tells NBC. "I only slept eight hours all week."
Dental records were used to finally identify the injured woman as Guerra, who was in critical condition with a brain injury, broken back, collapsed lung and other injuries.
"You're ecstatic for one -- I mean, it's a miracle, but in the same, you're angry because we've mourned all week," says Guerra's aunt, Dorenda Cisneros.
Finding out their daughter was really dead has been a blow to the Cantu family, says Marlena's friend Colleen Donovan.
"Every day they went [to the hospital] having hope that she's living one more day, then to find out it's not her," Donovan tells the Arizona Republic. "And Abby's parents, too. They've gone through all these emotions, and now they find out she's really alive. Abby still has a struggle to survive."
The Guerra family held a car wash over the weekend to raise money for Abby's funeral, but now the money will go toward her hospital bills and Cantu's funeral.
John Stanley -- athletics director at the University of Evansville, where Guerra plays soccer -- says soccer players who came to Arizona expecting to attend her funeral are now there to support Guerra's family, NBC reports.
"They were grief-stricken to learn of the death because of Abby's popularity," Stanley says. "Now, they understand that the situation is still very critical. They now have gone from planning to go to a funeral ... to having some degree of hope."
Another friend involved in the crash, Tyler Parker, 20, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where he died the next day, NBC reports.
"I can't explain this ... my grief," Cantu says. "All along I was led to believe that was Marlena ... and it wasn't."
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
7-26-2010 @ 10:04PM
anna said...Okay.. I work in the healthcare and what some people say may actually seem true. Meaning there are times when nurses will be playing on the internet.. be on their Iphone ..taking personal calls. I also was an patient at two different hospitals at different times. I felt like my needs were neglected too. The night nurses were playing cards.. another time discussing what brand of mayo taste best.. or mircle whip.. Really.. I work with some employees that don't do there job. Those are the ones that should be fired!
Try being on the patient's side.. or family side.. try to put yourself in their shoes. Try to remember the stress they are in.. Both families are in my prayers.
7-26-2010 @ 6:34PM
Katie said...My comment logged in at 6:32 pm is directed at quest89. Hopefully it's near his bedtime, and mummy has sent him to bed.
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7-26-2010 @ 6:46PM
blue65 said...Was it an SUV that the tire blew out,they had a recall on them for that.They should look into a law suite they just may have one.I COULDN'T IMAGINE GOING THROUGH WHAT THESE 3 FAMILES HAVE & ARE GOING THROUGH.Sorry about all caps
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7-26-2010 @ 6:48PM
OP said...Am I the only one who see's how eerily similar that these 2 girls look. I mean honestly they look like twins!!!
I can totally understand the mix up from the police BUT I find it crazy that the parents who sat by their daughters friend bedside for a whole week couldn't tell that wasn't their daughter. The faces look the same but I'm 100% sure their bodies are not.
But at the same time everyones different when it comes to tragic situations and they weren't all there in the head to figure it out.
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7-26-2010 @ 6:48PM
Irish Mist said...It is so easy to place blamae in a situation like this. Unless one has a tat on their body with their name and all other personal info it is sometimes hard to figure out who a person is, esp. if there is extensive and serious head injury. The main duty in an er is not to identify but to save lives if possible. I suggest that unless and until you know it alls are in the situation you keep your so called intelligence to yourself. BTW stop watching the tv programs that are ER stories...they are not even true..that is not at all how it is. Better still find a job in an ER and figure it out for yourselves.
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7-26-2010 @ 6:57PM
lnardolillo1 said...i can't belive people are worried about who to blame and worried about suing any one there is a young girl dead and one that could very well be in the same place as her friend STOP THINK AND LISTEN AND LOOK AROUND WHAT IF THIS WAS YOU AND YOURS PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN AND PRAY AND THAN KISS YOUR KIDS AND TELL THEM YOU LOVE THEM IT COULD BE THE LAST TIME YOU DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN SORRY TO BOTH OF YOUR FAMILYS GOD BLESS YOU ALL
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7-26-2010 @ 6:58PM
dethburger said...lighten up Rick. The person who you just condemmed to hell didn't even send that spam. The people who are spamming this and other boards use others accounts, unknowningly, to do their spamming.
Get a clue.
Also, was anyone in the vehicle wearing seatbelts?
It would be good to know don't ya think?
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7-26-2010 @ 9:11PM
Kristin said...Why in the world does this article focus on the hardships of the family and friends/supporters who found out that their daughter/friend/teammate was actually ALIVE? Although it's horrible for them, how about the family who sat by the hospital bed all week just to find their child was actually dead? And HER schoolmates and teammates and friends and teachers who must have either missed the funeral since they thouht it was another girl or are now having to grieve instead of hope?
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7-26-2010 @ 7:23PM
vicki said...I just wanted to respond, no negativity intended, to those who are wondering why the families visiting the girl in the hospital couldn't recognize she wasn't their daughter. A few years back a woman I knew who was in a very bad accident and was severely injured, as the girl mentioned in the article was, and she was barely recognizable even without facial injuries. Her entire body was bloated and swollen and a tube that was inserted in her head to relieve pressure on the brain all seemed to make her look like a different person. She wouldn't have been recognizable unless you knew it was her. My point is that it is very plausible that the family didn't know it wasn't their daughter because someone in that condition may look so different its almost unbelievable.
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7-26-2010 @ 7:51PM
kay said...Years ago, my grandma was in a very bad car accident. She was on life support with a severe head injury. I was 16 at the time, and I will never get the image of her out of my head! She was a very petite woman, but when I seen her, she had tubes everywhere, and her head was swollen four times the size of it. I over heard the icu nurses talking saying they had never seen anything like it. They said she looked like the elephant man. We would have never known who she was if it wasn't just her and my grandpa in the car. We could also tell by her fingers and nail polish she always wore. She passed away two days later. My heart goes out to these families! And no one can blame the family for not knowing it wasnt their child! And definately cannot blame the hospital! How would they know who it is? The police do their best to identify them, but if no id is on them it's very difficult! But I think if this type of situation ever happends do anyone, they need to find something on the body to identify the person before this happends!
7-26-2010 @ 7:23PM
Marcie said...I find it hard to believe that the parents sat at the wrong girl's bedside for a week and didn't know it wasn't their daughter. I'd know my son anywhere.
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7-26-2010 @ 7:27PM
Victoria said...I also would like to say that my thoughts, sympathy, and prayers are with both of these families. I hope the families can be strong enough to deal with such a shared tragedy and can help each other to cope. God Bless them both.
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7-26-2010 @ 7:47PM
Kim said...Look at the pictures of the girls, they are so similar in looks. The parents of the one girl sat with her all week and didn't notice the difference. It's sad, but mistakes like this happen. The hospital didn't have the dental records and all that to go off of. The first thing was to save the lives they could, and they did that, next it was sorting out identities, and they did that too. Either way, the families of both girls had a horrible week to deal with, and probably could not have been more heart broken. It's sad all around, but thank God at least they were able to save one girl!
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7-26-2010 @ 8:02PM
Anastasia said...To the Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff at ANY hospital...Thank you for doing a job I wouldn't have the guts to do. It takes a very special person to want to care for other people and their well being. That said...if there is a law suit to be had it should be towards the parents of the girl who died for them being idiots for not knowing their own child but expecting complete strangers to and having the audacity to complain about it on national TV. I know that if one of my three children were injured like this I would be touching and looking at every part of their being incase I never have the God given opportunity to do so in the future.. To the other family who's daughter is still alive you better kiss her and hug her every minute of every day while she is still here.
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7-26-2010 @ 8:17PM
Tina said...All you have to do is look at the pictures of the 2 girls to see and understand how this mix up could have happened. They look alot alike. Abby has a head injury, that would include facial swelling, making her ID harder to make. I am sorry for what both families have to go through. But it is useless to blame the hospital and the officers that made the ID. my prays are with both families. I think it is a beautiful thing that Abby's family is doing by dontation to Marlena's service.
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7-26-2010 @ 8:06PM
Mary said...There is a gigantic error in this story. You keep calling Marlena "Maria" after first reference. Please repost with correction.
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7-26-2010 @ 9:10PM
Amanda said...Am I the only one who thinks it weird that no one noticed the different eye colors? I'm assuming she was probably in a coma or something so her eyes might not have been open much, but don't they check their eyes for pupil dilation and everything?
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7-26-2010 @ 9:32PM
Kando said...I was at first wondering why the other family didn't reconize that the young woman wasn't their daughter? but i now realize that both young women came into the hospital with severe head and facial wounds which meant that the young lady's face probably was so puff up and out of place the she was unrecognizable. This tragedy is a terrible mind set on both families however you look at it. May god bless the one fighting for her life.
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7-26-2010 @ 9:51PM
Katie to Lee said...Sorry to hear of your experience Lee. I cannot speak for all units obviously. But I can say this with 100% honesty, we work our bottoms off on our unit. From our very involved Nurse Manager, to our truly hard-working aides. Our Manager, and Asst Nurse Manager have come and held hands with our patients. They have cried with them. They walk the halls. I like to think we have the cleanest unit in the hospital. They did a cool thing at our nurses station. We have what looks like a traffic light. It is actually a noise sensor. When green,,,this indicates an acceptable level. And of course following,, would be yellow and red...indicating increased and unacceptable levels. This reminds us to keep the noise down and socializing to a minimum. All of this points back to our management! The same people who remember our birthdays. And organize moral programs. So I say, your hospital stay is only as good as the Management that runs the unit. I am embarrassed that any of my fellow professionals would be so rude. Most of us are very hard working, putting in overtime, and taking courses to improve our skills. I say to anyone who has had a bad hospital experience,,, write to the Nurse Manager of that unit. Let management know specifically what issues you encountered. If nothing is said, nothing gets fixed. Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
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7-26-2010 @ 9:53PM
Turnkey181 said...I tell you how this can happen. too many medical personal speaking with accents and not good english. Too many non americans working in the medical fields messing things up. i bet if theses girls were treated by american medical professionals speaking and knowing english and american ways this may not have happened.
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