Medical professionals at an Arizona hospital pronounced an 18-month-old boy dead, only for him to be discovered alive hours later in the morgue. The devastating error has left a family grappling with both relief and anguish as their son battles severe injuries.
The incident unfolded on February 8, Super Bowl Sunday, when Vincent Fiordilino was discovered floating face down in his family’s swimming pool in Gilbert, Arizona. Emergency responders transported the toddler to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where medical teams worked to revive him.
Doctor declared the child dead citing test results
Dr. Aryan Toosi informed parents Alexus and Angelo Fiordilino that their son’s blood had become too acidic and continuing resuscitation efforts would only extend his suffering. The physician officially pronounced Vincent dead at 6:20 p.m.
Alexus accepted the medical team’s assessment because she wanted to prevent her child from enduring unnecessary pain. “I had to say goodbye. Do you know how hard that is?” she recalled in interviews. “I just remember begging him to come back.”
While the family mourned in the trauma room, Alexus’s mother-in-law embraced the baby and detected something unusual. She alerted those present, saying “Hey, it sounds like he’s breathing,” but hospital personnel explained it away as a normal air release from earlier chest compressions.
Child spent over four hours in refrigerated morgue
Hospital staff transferred Vincent to a refrigerated room serving as the morgue at 7:23 p.m., where temperatures are maintained between 36 and 39°F (approximately 2 to 4°C). The toddler remained there for more than four hours until medical examiner personnel arrived at 11:52 p.m. to retrieve the body and made the startling discovery that he was breathing. “He was alone for 5 ½ hours. How do you do that to a baby?” Alexus questioned.
Parents learned their son was alive during police questioning
Law enforcement officers were actively interviewing the parents when a detective entered with unexpected news about their son. “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.”
According to the law firm representing the Fiordilino family, Vincent sustained a “severe and permanent brain injury.” After his discharge from the hospital in April, the child has been unable to walk independently and has not regained his ability to speak.
Legal action planned against hospital and physician
The family’s legal representatives are preparing to file a lawsuit against Dr. Toosi and the hospital, alleging the physician provided inaccurate information and referenced incomplete test results when making the death determination. Prosecutors ultimately decided against pressing charges against the parents after determining they had installed multiple childproof locks and finding no evidence of impairment.
