Colorado Toddler to Be Removed from Life Support After Flu and Croup Diagnosis
A one-year-old Colorado toddler will be taken off life support on Friday after being diagnosed with the flu and croup, his devastated parents have announced. Eric Ryan and Maegan Coffin are facing every parent's worst nightmare as they prepare to say goodbye to their son Alastor in just a matter of days.
Rapid Deterioration After Initial Diagnosis
The couple first took their baby boy to an emergency department in Northglenn, approximately 13 miles north of Denver, on January 9. Medical staff diagnosed him with flu and croup before sending him home with steroids and Tamiflu. However, his condition failed to improve, prompting his frantic parents to rush him back to the hospital.
'After they did the X-ray, he stopped breathing,' Coffin, his stricken mother, told KDVR. Doctors attempted to intubate him before transferring him by ambulance to a second hospital. Alastor's mother claims this transfer caused him to suffer a prolonged lack of oxygen.
Family's Heartbreaking Decision
Alastor's father wrote on Facebook over the weekend that his son had technically been pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon. 'It took me a while to be able to even write this,' Ryan posted. 'We always understood how severe his situation was but we would never give up hope on him.'
The parents explained that Alastor was diagnosed with human metapneumovirus and croup, which caused swelling in his throat and made breathing extremely difficult. Despite receiving treatment with steroids and Tamiflu, he never recovered.
Family Gathers for Final Goodbyes
Alastor's four heartbroken siblings gathered at his bedside along with their parents, anxiously awaiting the results of his brain activity test. Their hopes were shattered when the test confirmed the worst.
Ryan described the agony of watching his children realize their brother would not survive. 'My other children wanted to be there for his test [last] Friday and watching them each break down destroyed a part of me,' Ryan said. 'None of them deserved this. I would do anything just to take their pain away.'
Ryan remembered Alastor as 'such a happy baby and in his short time he became the center of our family.' He added that he planned to have casts of Alastor's hands and feet made and admitted he still did not 'want to believe this is real.'
Virus Details and Hospital Concerns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an uptick in cases of human metapneumovirus, which is most common in winter and spring and currently has no vaccine or specific treatment. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this virus is typically most severe for infants between six and twelve months old.
The couple is now considering legal action against the first emergency department that diagnosed Alastor and has already contacted an attorney, according to KDVR reports. Ryan emphasized that he and his wife never intended to keep Alastor on life support indefinitely but felt rushed into making a decision.
'We wanted to give him time to rest and see if there was any chance that his brain could heal at all,' he wrote on April 6. He had previously noted that Alastor's other organs were 'working fine' and claimed there 'shouldn't be any long term damage to any of them' if he woke up.
Hospital Security Incident Adds to Distress
Ryan also described a disturbing incident where a security guard at the unnamed hospital prevented him from seeing his son in the pediatric intensive care unit just before midnight. 'I even told the guard that I have been in his room every day and no one has said anything,' he wrote on Facebook.
'It's like he almost didn't believe me,' Ryan added. 'I haven't threatened anyone here. I haven't even raised my voice with anyone.' A nurse eventually helped convince security to let him see his son during his final week.
'Not only has this been one of the worst experiences of our lives but this hospital has made it so much worse,' he posted. Ryan ironically noted that he would 'figure out' in the morning how he 'became a threat to the PICU.'
Family Support and Fundraising
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover their living expenses during this difficult time. As of Tuesday morning, the fundraiser had raised approximately $7,800 of its initial $9,000 goal, showing community support for the grieving family.
Ryan expressed his frustration with the medical system, claiming that when he asked doctors why there was a 'rush' to conduct a brain death test on Alastor, 'they wouldn't answer.' He emphasized the importance of fighting for his child, saying 'The last thing they needed to think is that if it was one of them that we wouldn't fight for them.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Ryan and Coffin for further comment as the family prepares for Friday's difficult procedure.
