A family’s unimaginable grief turned into a shocking miracle when their toddler was found breathing in a hospital morgue hours after doctors declared him dead.
On Super Bowl Sunday, February 8, 18-month-old Vincent Fiordilino was found floating face down in his family’s pool in Gilbert, Arizona. He was rushed into the emergency room at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where teams tried to save him. But Dr. Aryan Toosi soon delivered the worst news a parent can get. He told Alexus and Angelo Fiordilino their son’s blood was too acidic and any more attempts to save him would just prolong his agony. At 6:20 p.m., the doctor called the time of death.
“I had to say goodbye”
Alexus trusted the medical advice because she did not want her son to suffer. “I had to say goodbye. Do you know how hard that is?” she recalled in interviews. “I just remember begging him to come back.”
As the family gathered to mourn in the trauma room, Alexus’s mother-in-law hugged the baby and noticed something strange. She told the room, “Hey, it sounds like he’s breathing,” but medical staff dismissed it. They told the family it was just a normal release of air caused by the chest compressions.
Most of us would trust the medical experts in a situation like that. You just assume the doctors know best when they tell you there is no hope left.
An 18-month-old alone in a morgue for hours
At 7:23 p.m., staff moved Vincent into a cold room used as the hospital morgue, where the temperature is kept between 36 and 39°F (about 2 to 4°C). He stayed in that room for more than four hours. Finally, at 11:52 p.m., a medical examiner’s team arrived to collect the body and realized the boy was actually breathing. “He was alone for 5 ½ hours. How do you do that to a baby?” Alexus asked.
It is hard to even picture a little boy left alone in a freezing room for that long. We can only wonder how he held on.
“We were praising the Lord”
Police were actively questioning the parents when a detective rushed in with the news. “My husband and I just screamed in relief. We were praising the Lord,” Alexus said. “We were crying. To go from hearing he was gone and then finding out he isn’t gone, it’s an unexplainable feeling.”
Vincent survived, but according to the law firm representing the family, he suffered a “severe and permanent brain injury.” Since leaving the hospital in April, he has been unable to walk on his own and has not recovered his speech.
The family’s lawyers plan to sue the doctor and hospital, claiming the doctor gave false information and cited test results that weren’t finished yet. Meanwhile, prosecutors decided not to charge the parents, noting they had multiple childproof locks in place and there was no evidence either parent was impaired.
We serve a miracle-working God
God is the one who gives us breath, and He has the final say over life and death. When the doctors close the door and walk away, God is still right there in the room. We don’t always understand why terrible accidents happen, or why this little boy has to face such serious injuries today. But we know the Lord held him in that cold room when nobody else was there. It reminds us of the story of Lazarus in the Bible. Four days had passed, and everyone thought it was over. But Jesus walked up to a tomb where all hope was gone. Moved by the faith and love of his sisters, Mary and Martha, He brought Lazarus back to life.
Our God is a miracle worker. He is able to heal this precious child from his brain injuries today.
Lord, we lift up little Vincent to You right now. Please touch his body and heal his brain today. Give Alexus and Angelo the strength they need for the days ahead. Fill them with Your divine peace. May they praise Your name and proclaim Your goodness by witnessing a complete miracle in their son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
WATCH: Toddler Declared Dead Found Breathing in Hospital Morgue Hours Later
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