Ana Cardenas from El Paso, Texas woke in her ground-floor apartment at Cielo Vista Apartments recently to the sensation of water dripping on her face and body.
But as Cardenas would realize as she woke from a 4am haze, it was not water but what appeared to be blood coming from the apartment above hers.
Her ceiling fan was running and helped spread what turned out to be blood and other bodily fluids around her bedroom. She found splatters on her floor and walls, though the worst of it was on her bed, clothes, hair, body and face.
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WARNING: graphic
Cardenas recalled:
"It grossed me out. I was in shock."
"I thought, 'This isn't real. This is a dream. Wake up.'"
"I called maintenance and they said, 'Are you sure?' and I said, 'Blood is falling on me.'"
The local fire department was called. When they appeared on the scene they broke down the upstairs neighbor's door and discovered he had died. Officials estimated the man was between 55 and 70 years old and had died of natural causes.
His body had been decomposing above Cardenas bedroom for 5-7 days.
In his advanced state of decomposition, his bodily fluids had begun to seep through his carpet and through Cardenas' ceiling.
Cardenas stated:
"They took the fan down and a pool of blood came down."
Cardenas contacted the apartment complex again after the firefighters left to discuss next steps, but she did not receive support.
Cardenas had not purchased renter's insurance and the complex would not take responsibility for Cardenas' personal items including the bed that needed to be thrown out after being contaminated.
Cardenas said:
"I told them my bed is covered in blood, and they told me they're sorry, but the insurance won't pay it."
"It was awful, an awful impact."
People were disgusted on Cardenas' behalf.
Ana Cardenas has been struggling to sleep, eat or relax since the incident and is actively looking for a new place to live that works with her budget.
Cardenas set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the move and to purchase a new bed and other necessities since the apartment complex has insisted it isn't their responsibility.
After making the initial complaint, Cardenas has been unable to get in touch with the front office for additional help, for permission to break her lease or for any other sort of financial claim after her horrific encounter.
@mmpadellan/X
