Police in Arizona, US, recently released details of a miraculous incident where an 18-month-old boy was found alive after spending over five hours in the cold room of the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center morgue. This discovery came despite a doctor having previously declared him deceased, as reported by ABC News on 9/7.
Authorities are currently investigating potential errors by the emergency medical team. Additionally, they are considering prosecuting the child's parents for negligence and inadequate supervision.
The incident began on the afternoon of 8/2 in Gilbert, Arizona. While the family was watching the Super Bowl, the boy wandered into the backyard and fell into the swimming pool. Rescue personnel arrived at the scene at 5:30 p.m. and transported the child to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. However, less than an hour later, at 6:20 p.m., Doctor Aryan Toosi officially pronounced the toddler dead.
This declaration immediately raised suspicions among family members and two police officers present at the hospital. When saying goodbye, the family noticed the child appeared to be trying to breathe. The two officers also heard gasping sounds from the boy. One officer even overheard a nurse report detecting a pulse, but Doctor Toosi dismissed it, asserting these were merely post-mortem diaphragmatic spasms, according to a police report cited by CNN.
As a consequence of this misdiagnosis, the boy was transferred to the cold storage room for bodies. More than five hours later, staff from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office arrived to retrieve the body for an autopsy and were astonished to find the child still breathing. The boy was immediately airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital for intensive care.
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Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, Arizona, US. Photo: AP |
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, Arizona, US. Photo: AP
Now 22 months old, the boy has been discharged from the hospital following remarkable progress. However, he sustained severe injuries and will require intensive physical therapy and lifelong medical care. John Brewer, the family's civil attorney, emphasized that these profound injuries resulted from the lack of timely intervention and resuscitation efforts due to the hospital's misdiagnosis.
In addition to clarifying medical responsibility, police are also proposing charges against the child's parents for abuse and gross negligence. The investigation revealed that the couple had been smoking marijuana in the garage, leaving the door unsecured, which allowed their young child unsupervised access to the dangerous pool area. Adults present at the home admitted they were complacent, believing someone else was watching the child.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center described the event as "a heartbreaking incident" and stated it has conducted a comprehensive review of its treatment procedures to improve the quality of medical care. Meanwhile, Scott Holden, Doctor Toosi's lawyer, told AP that "the incident is more complex, both factually and medically, than what has been reported in the media."
Forensic experts note that erroneous death declarations, while extremely rare, occasionally occur worldwide due to human error or lax procedures. Doctor Judy Melinek, a San Francisco pathologist, explained that determining a person's death requires a rigorous examination, involving a waiting period of several minutes to confirm the complete absence of heartbeat, respiration, and brain activity. She affirmed that once a person is truly deceased, they cannot spontaneously revive; therefore, cases of "resurrection" in a cold room are actually due to inexperienced doctors or incorrect clinical assessment procedures.
Binh Minh (According to ABC News, CNN)
