A Texas family is fighting for their son's life, which their local children's hospital says is already over.
Mario and Ana Patricia Torres began legal proceedings against Texas Children's Hospital in September. Their 10-month-old son, Nick, was rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious in a bathtub.
Nick is on life support. Mario and Ana contend he is still alive because his heart is beating. But the medical team argues that he is brain-dead and that his body is showing further signs of deterioration.
What happens when parents and doctors don't agree on the next step for a child's care? That's what the couple's legal team says is at the heart of this lawsuit.
Mario and Ana feel they're being pressured to make a decision quickly by the hospital. They'd like to transfer Nick to another hospital for a second opinion. The hospital contends it is just following protocol based on Texas state law.
A tragic accident has led to a heartbreaking legal battle for one Texas family. Mario and Ana are parents to 10-month-old Nick. Nick was placed into intensive care on September 24 after being found unconscious in a bathtub, "laying in water and unresponsive," according to CNN.
Nick was transferred to the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston from the local hospital the family originally took him to. After six days of care, the hospital informed the family Nick had to be removed from life support. His brain wasn't showing any activity, which meant that by legal definition, he was deceased.
But the Torres family feels differently. Mario and Ana feel that as long as their child's heart is still beating, a miracle can happen. They are faithful people who believe in the power of all those lifting Nick in prayer.
The couple filed an injunction on September 30 against the hospital. The complaint claims the family felt they were being rushed to make a decision. They feel Nick isn't being given a fair opportunity to recover and are also seeking over $1 million from the hospital.
The hospital responded by asking the court to deny the family's injunction. It explained that evaluations both at its satellite hospital and at the TCH campus at Texas Medical Center show "complete cessation of all spontaneous brain activity" and the child is dead according to Texas law.
Dr. Matthew Musick, the senior medical director for the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit, said in a court filing he pronounced the boy dead on September 30. He also noted that the child's body was showing "postmortem deterioration."
The judge denied the temporary injunction but allowed the family more time to file an accelerated appeal with the 14th Court of Appeals. Both sides have until Wednesday to present their cases.
"Our hearts are with the entire Torres family as they go through this unimaginable situation," the hospital told CNN. "We know losing a child is incredibly difficult for any family. Texas Children's seeks to provide the most compassionate and appropriate care possible to every patient we serve."
Family attorney Kevin Acevado told CNN what the case was about.
"[It's] about life and death, what we believe, and who gets to choose when a child is taken off life support," he explained. "Do the parents choose, or do the doctors choose? And when the doctors don't agree with the parents, who gets to decide? And those are the issues that are at the heart of this case."
A support system around the family has continued to grow. There was a demonstration outside the hospital where people slammed the medical group for trying to force the family's hand. An online petition shows the support of nearly 3,000 others.
Once the case is presented in front of the judicial panel, a decision could come within days.
"[Ana] believes that her baby can live," the attorney noted. "If another hospital won't take the baby, she wants to take her baby home."
"If this hospital doesn't want to give it time then let me take my baby home and [let] God decide, not man," Ana wrote on Facebook. The distressed mother is hoping she will be given the chance to do what her faith sees as right.
"As a mother, I ask you to keep praying for my baby."
