It was a brief, almost imperceptible movement. But Álvaro saw it with absolute clarity. His heart stopped. The crematorium manager also took a step back, pale, noticing a second movement, this time more evident, like a slight push from within.
“Stop everything!” Álvaro shouted with a mixture of panic and hope. “My son… my son is moving!”
Minutes later, the paramedics arrived. One of them, Dr. Fernanda Luque, asked that nothing be moved until the situation could be assessed. Gently and quickly, she examined Clara’s body and placed a stethoscope on her abdomen. Her expression shifted from concentration to utter surprise.
There was a heartbeat. A faint heartbeat, but real.
Álvaro felt like the world was crashing down on him just as the medical team prepared to act. However, what they would discover when they opened Clara’s abdomen would completely surpass anything they had imagined…
Dr. Fernanda Luque ordered Clara’s body to be moved immediately to a room in the crematorium where they could work while waiting for a fully equipped ambulance. The priority was singular: to try to save the baby. The protocol was complex, but every second counted.
Álvaro remained a meter away, supported by a police officer who was trying to keep him calm. The situation was exceptional and required precision. When the doctor obtained the necessary instruments, she explained in a firm voice:
“Clara is clinically deceased, but the baby still has cardiac activity. We will attempt a perimortem cesarean section.”
The sentence left everyone frozen.
“Here he is…” she whispered.
The baby was alive, although his complexion was worryingly pale. After cutting the umbilical cord, they quickly wrapped him in thermal blankets and connected him to a small neonatal mask to give him oxygen.
Álvaro saw when they lifted him. He was tiny, but he was moving his arms. His heart broke.
“Is he… is he okay?” he asked in a whisper.
“He’s alive,” Fernanda replied. But he needed intensive care immediately.
The ambulance arrived just then. The baby was taken to Miguel Servet Hospital, while the police stayed behind to document the procedure. The case required detailed reports, as Clara’s death had been certified, and now it was revealed that the fetus was still alive.
At the hospital, the baby was admitted to the neonatal ICU. Initial tests showed that he had suffered moderate hypoxia due to the time that had passed, but his heart was holding on. The doctors spoke with Álvaro for hours, explaining possible scenarios. Many were uncertain, others hopeful.
Álvaro broke down crying like he hadn’t cried since it all began. It was a cry of pain, but also of relief. He had lost Clara, but not the child they had both awaited with so much love.
Even so, the hardest part was yet to come: knowing if that little boy would survive the next few days, where every minute would be crucial…
The following days were an emotional whirlwind for Álvaro. He spent hours by the incubator, watching his son—whom he decided to call Mateo, the name Clara had chosen—connected to monitors, wires, and a ventilator. Every beep from the monitor drew a sigh from him. Every tiny movement from the baby was a silent victory.
The hospital specialists worked tirelessly. Mateo was having trouble breathing and needed constant monitoring. However, he was responding surprisingly well to treatment. Every morning, Dr. Fernanda visited the NICU to assess his progress, and little by little, her expression became more optimistic.
“He’s fighting,” she told him one day, placing a hand on Álvaro’s shoulder. “Your son wants to live.”
After eight days, Mateo managed to breathe on his own for a few minutes. After twelve, he opened his eyes for the first time while Álvaro watched. It was a brief moment, but enough to completely disarm him. It was as if Clara, in some corner of the silence, had left one last gift.
Three weeks later, the medical team decided that Mateo no longer needed intensive care. He would remain hospitalized, but his life was no longer in immediate danger. The news swept through the hospital like a ray of hope. Many staff members had followed the case from the beginning: the perimortem cesarean section, the last-second rescue, the baby’s fight for survival.
Finally, a month and a half later, Álvaro was able to hold Mateo without wires or masks. He held him with a mixture of pride, gratitude, and a deep sorrow for Clara’s inevitable absence. But he also knew that his wife would have wanted this moment more than anything in the world.
On the day of his discharge, Fernanda said goodbye with a warm hug.
“Take good care of him,” she told him. “This story could have ended differently. But Mateo is here because you didn’t give up.”
Álvaro looked at his sleeping son and felt that he could finally breathe again. He had lived through the most difficult tragedy of his life, but he had also found a new reason to keep going.
And now, as she hugged her little one as she left the hospital, all she could think about was sharing this story so that others would remember how fragile and precious life is.
