An Arizona mother whose toddler was mistakenly pronounced dead after a near-drowning recently said she is “infuriated” after learning more about the medical care her son received hours before he was found breathing in a hospital morgue.
Alexus Fiordilino, 30, told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, in an Oct. 22 interview that she believes Dr. Aryan Toosi misled her and her husband about their 18-month-old son Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino’s chances of survival while he received care at Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona.
“Infuriated. I feel like I was grossly misled,” Fiordilino said.
Vincent was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. on Feb. 8 after being pulled from the family’s backyard swimming pool. More than five hours later, a medical examiner’s office transporter discovered the toddler was still alive in the hospital’s cold room.
“My husband and I just screamed in relief,” Fiordilino told NBC News in an interview this month. “We were praising the Lord. We were crying. To go from hearing he was gone and then finding out he isn’t gone, it’s an unexplainable feeling.”
What happened before Vincent was pronounced dead?
Fiordilino said she found Vincent floating face down in the family’s pool during a Super Bowl party. Her husband began CPR while relatives called 911, and first responders took the toddler to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.
According to The Arizona Republic, Vincent arrived at the hospital at 6:04 p.m. as medical staff continued efforts to revive him.
Fiordilino recalled Toosi asking the family whether they wanted to continue resuscitation efforts. She said the doctor later told them Vincent’s blood pH levels were too high for him to survive, and the family agreed to stop treatment.
Toosi pronounced Vincent dead at 6:20 p.m.
But the family’s attorney, John Brewer, alleged that the doctor did not have the relevant blood test results until 18 minutes after the declaration of death. Brewer said the parents made their decision based on information that was not available at the time.
Fiordilino also recalled family members thinking Vincent was breathing when they hugged him goodbye. Hospital staff repeatedly told them the sounds were agonal breathing, involuntary breaths that can occur near death, she told NBC News.
Police documented apparent gasps after Vincent was pronounced dead, while medical staff attributed the sounds to resuscitation efforts and oxygen.
USA TODAY contacted Dignity Health and Toosi’s attorney, Scott Holden, on Oct. 23 for comment, but has not received a response.
Vincent faces lifelong health challenges
After the family left the hospital, Vincent was placed in a cold room awaiting transfer to the medical examiner. A transporter discovered him breathing more than four hours later.
Vincent was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for further treatment. Nearly nine months later, he is home with his family but has sustained a severe brain injury, his mother told The Arizona Republic.
Brewer said Vincent faces significant health challenges and will require lifelong care, NBC News reported.
Will the family sue the hospital?
Fiordilino and Brewer are considering legal action against Toosi and Dignity Health, which operates Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Brewer told The Arizona Republic that she and her attorneys expect to file a lawsuit the following week.
Holden told NBC News that the physician’s thoughts were with Vincent and his family and that he wished the child continued healing and recovery.
Dignity Health described the incident as “heartbreaking” and said patient safety and exceptional care were its highest priorities, according to a statement sent to NBC News.
The case also prompted scrutiny of Vincent’s supervision before the near-drowning. Gilbert police recommended child abuse charges against both parents, who acknowledged using marijuana earlier that day, according to police reports.
However, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced in July that prosecutors would not charge the parents, citing the evidence and the standard required to secure a conviction.
Gilbert police referred information about the hospital incident to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The office confirmed receiving the referral but had not decided whether to accept it for review, The Arizona Republic reported.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mom speaks out after son found alive in Arizona hospital’s morgue
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