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Mom horrified after 'having to say goodbye' to baby son who 'drowned' - only to find he was alive in the morgue
In a gut-wrenching interview, an Arizona mom has spoken out about the trauma she faced when she found out her toddler was still alive in a hospital morgue hours after she said her final goodbyes.
Alexus Fiordilino told ABC 15 in an interview that February 8 was the worst day of her life after finding her 18-month-old son Vincent floating face down in their pool at her Arizona home.
Just five hours after he was discovered and rushed to the hospital, the child was pronounced dead. After desperate attempts to resuscitate the toddler in the emergency room, Fiordilino says that doctors told her that even if he was saved, his life would never be the same.
According to the horrified mom, Dr Aryan Toosi said: “He comes back, like maybe not even five, 10 minutes later, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, so his pH levels are too high.
“They’re too acidic. So even if we are to bring him back, it wouldn’t be a good form of life."
Shockingly, Fiordilino recalls Dr Toosi saying: "He’d be suffering. So I think I should call the time for it."
Doctors ignored the family's observations
The mom also claimed that Vincent was breathing before he was incorrectly pronounced dead, but hospital staff dismissed it as agonal breathing. However, the child's grandmother allegedly noticed signs of life.
Fiordilino told ABC: “She’s like, ‘Hey, it sounds like he’s breathing.’ And I’m like, ‘What?”'
The two women were quickly brushed aside by medical staff and reportedly told: “it’s normal that it’s going to sound like that” and that the breathing was a result of the child’s deoxygenated brainstem.
In a police report obtained by the Daily Mail, it is stated that a police officer heard a nurse say “I have a pulse” and that other staff moved quickly to help her “in attempting to revive Vincent.”
According to the police report, when the cop told Fiordilino her son had a pulse, Dr. Toosi reportedly brushed him off, stating “he was the doctor, he has a medical degree, he went to medical school for a reason and let him do his thing.”
The police officer also noted that the child's “stomach and chest area was rising and falling” and that she “observed what appeared to be another audible gasp.”
Vincent was declared dead a mere six minutes later.
An investigation found no medical staff will be prosecuted
After the grave mistake was realised, the boy was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Shortly after his arrival, Fiordilino was told by doctors that Vincent had suffered severe brain damage that would leave him cognitively impaired for life.
While reports are correct that there was a huge blunder made by the hospital staff, no one is set to be prosecuted in relation to the case. Gilbert Police Sgt. Jordan Tuckenbrod told the Daily Mail that “the facts gathered in our investigation, combined with all facts known at this time, did not establish probable cause for any criminal conduct involving medical personnel.”
“As a result, no charges were forwarded against those involved.”
A lawyer for Dr. Toosi told the Daily Mail that “his commitment to delivering high-quality care has always been rooted in a desire to provide healing, safety and comfort to his community.”
“Due to pending litigation and privacy laws, we cannot speak to the details of the care provided at this time.”