A 13-year-old boy identified as Alex Pierce, who remains to be in a comatose and is on life support, is being threatened to be killed by the hospital as they want to remove him from the life support system despite the protests of his family.
The boy is brain-damaged and is staying at Loma Linda Medical Center. He is being tested and examined now but the hospital could rule medically that he should be removed from his life support. Life News reported that the family of the boy is now seeking for a physician or a hospital to independently evaluate the condition of Pierce.
As per reports, Pierce was one of the 100 students attending a pool party at Vista Murrieta High School last June 3. During the party, Alex was seen at the bottom of the pool and stayed there for a minute and a half. Paramedics arrived five minutes after and that was the only time they performed CPR on the teenager. Accordingly, students were the ones who rescued him as efforts to get the attention of the life guards and parents present in the area failed.
Pierce was then taken to Inland Valley Medical Center. He was placed on a ventilator and was still able to open his eyes and move his arms. He was later transported to Loma Linda Medical Center via air ambulance. However, on Saturday evening, Pierce began having spasms, which were diagnosed as seizure.
The seizures were treated via multiple medications but due to the heavy doses, the condition of Pierce changed. He was no longer able to move his arms or open his eyes. Two days after, Sunday, June 5, Loma Linda Medical Center conducted a brain death test, which is the first step from eventually removing a patient from life support.
The family opposed the test as the apnea test will require Pierce to be taken off the ventilator for around 15 minutes. This could cause further injury to the patient. Allison Aranda, the Senior Staff Counsel for the Life Legal Defense Foundation, filed a petition on behalf of the patient and his mother. An emergency restraining order from the hospital has also been requested.
The request also ordered Loma Linda Medical Center to provide Pierce with nutrition and thyroid hormone that is great for brain healing and function.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up for the family of Pierce. It has more than $23,000 in donations as of Tuesday.
