Local
Gilbert toddler’s mother questions hospital care after son was declared dead
An 18-month-old boy was pronounced dead at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center after a near-drowning, then found alive in the morgue nearly five hours later. Newly shared records show a blood-gas test was canceled and its results arrived after the child had been declared dead; his family plans to file a complaint.
Nearly eight months after her 18-month-old son was pronounced dead at a Gilbert hospital and later found alive in its morgue, Alexus Fiordilino says she still thinks about the ordeal every day.
“I thought I lost my baby and he was back,” she said. “There isn’t a day I don’t think about that day.”
Vincent Fiordilino was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center on Feb. 8 after being found face-down in a swimming pool during a Super Bowl party, according to records shared by the family’s attorney. Police performed CPR before paramedics transported him to the hospital.
The records show Vincent arrived at about 6:04 p.m. A doctor ordered an arterial blood gas test at 6:08 p.m. to measure oxygen in his blood, but the test was canceled. Lab samples were collected at 6:11 p.m., and Vincent was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
Body-camera footage captured an officer asking at 6:13 p.m. whether the blood-gas results were available. Hospital staff said they were not. The results came in at 6:38 p.m., 18 minutes after Vincent was declared dead. The doctor signed the report the following day, after Vincent had been found alive in the morgue, the documents show.
His mother recalled pleading with police and firefighters to save him as she said goodbye. Later, she received a call that he was alive. She said she felt grateful and rushed back to him, worried he had been alone.
Alexus said she believes the outcome could have been different if doctors had waited for the test results. Her attorney said the family plans to file a complaint against the hospital and doctor next week. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said it has not decided whether to review the case.
The family’s account and the records raise questions about the timing of the medical decisions and the handling of the test. The available information does not establish why the test was canceled or explain the delay in signing the report.