Who is baby Nick Torres? Heartbroken mom fights Texas Children’s Hospital to keep 10-month-old on life support
A heartbroken mother is embroiled in a legal battle with a Texas Children’s Hospital that wants to turn off her son's life support.
Ten-month-old Nick Torres was found unresponsive in a bathtub on September 24, and his family has been appealing to the Court of Appeals for more time ever since. Little Nick's loved ones are begging the court to grant them enough time to find a hospital that will care for him considering his heart is still beating on its own, The Sun reported.
His mother Ana Patricia Torres, endearingly called Patty, made a heartfelt appeal on Sunday after a judge reportedly denied the family a temporary injunction last week. -- essentially granting Texas Children’s Hospital the authority to take Nick off life support on Monday.
Patty pleaded with viewers to keep her son alive in a video posted on social media Monday morning. "I want to leave it to God, for God to decide if he wants to take him. I want God to decide, not the hospital, not the court, not nobody,” she said.
Doctors at the hospital, however, believe the ten-month-old doesn't have any brain activity and recommend he be removed from life support.
Family attorney Kevin Acevedo said in a press conference Monday afternoon that the family have already made preparations for hospice care if the hospital allows them to take Nick home from the hospital. According to Acevedo, the family is willing to take the case all the way to the Supreme court.
The Harris County Court of Appeals ruled yesterday in favor of keeping Nick alive until Wednesday pending a court ruling. All the evidence in the case must be submitted by 5 pm on Wednesday, the court has told Nick's parents. The court is expected to come to a decision by the end of the week.
Dozens of protesters stood in solidarity with Nick's family outside the courthouse Friday in order to object to the court's decision to take him off life support.
“We're protesting for more time for the judge so that way they can at least find another hospital they can take the child to," Nick’s uncle, Mark Torres, told ABC News. "We're hoping for a miracle. We are praying for a miracle."
One of the doctors, however, testified on Friday that Nick was declared deceased on September 20 after a brain wave conducted on the baby boy showed no brain activity. Meanwhile, several other doctors and medical experts also agreed with the conclusion in their respective testimonies to the judge. In fact, the attorney representing Texas Children’s Hospital said in closing arguments that little Nick had died more than a week ago.
During the court proceedings, which Patty and Nick’s father Mario attended via Zoom, they made an emotional plea to keep their son on life support. "Please keep praying for our son. I know he is here," Nick's mom said through tears.
A spokesperson for Texas Children's Hospital shared the following statement Friday. "Our hearts are with the entire Torres family as they go through this unimaginable situation," they told ABC13. “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."
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to cover legal expenses in the family's fight for little Nick Torres.
