An Arizona mother is speaking out after her 18-month-old son was found alive in a hospital morgue, hours after a doctor had declared him death.
According to shocking reports, Alexus Fiordilino and her husband Angelo found their toddler, Vincent, face down in their family swimming pool in February, 2026.
They performed life-saving measures and Vincent was rushed to Mercy Gilbert Medical Centre. As per a GoFundMe, he had been underwater for approximately five minutes.
At the hospital, emergency room doctor Aryan Toosi declared the toddler dead.
In a recent interview with ABC15, mom Alexus recalled: “When I got to the hospital, I thought, ‘okay’, these people are going to help me.”
Dr Toosi is alleged to have told her: “Yeah, so his pH levels are too high. They’re too acidic. So even if we are to bring him back, it wouldn’t be a good form of life. He’d be suffering. So I think it’s best that I call the time for it.”
Alexus claimed he then told hospital staff to stop CPR, saying: “As long as there are no objections, I’d like to call time of death.”
Despite being declared dead by the doctor, Alexus says her mother-in-law thought she could hear him breathing.
“My mother-in-law is there, and she goes over, and she hugs him,” Alexus told ABC15.
“And she’s like, hey. It sounds like he’s breathing and I was like, what? They’re like, oh, it’s normal. It’s normal that it’s gonna sound like that, but that’s normal.”
The family were reportedly told this sound was ‘agonal breathing’, an involuntary brainstem reflex characterized by gasping, labored, and irregular breathing. It is described as an indication that the brain is severely deprived of oxygen and that death may be imminent.
Hours later, however, Vincent was found alive in the hospital morgue by staff preparing to transport his body.
“He was alone. He was alone for five-and-a-half hours. How do you do that to a baby?” Alexus told ABC15.
Vincent was transferred to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where an MRI scan revealed he had suffered extensive brain damage and would require life-long care.
As per reports, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office will review an investigation into the matter, while questions are now being asked about the timing of a blood gas test used to support Dr. Toosi’s decision to declare the boy dead.
Lawyer John Brewer, working on behalf of the Fiordilino family, said that Toosi had cited Vincent’s blood gas results when explaining his decision to declare Vincent dead.
The toddler’s death was officially logged at 6:20 p.m., while the blood gas tests results were reportedly not received until 6:38 p.m., 18 minutes later.
Meanwhile, records reviewed by ABC15 investigators are said to allege that Dr. Toosi did not take Vincent’s core body temperature or carry out warming measures, in part due to the blood gas test.
Scott Holden, a lawyer for Dr Toosi, said that his client’s thoughts were with Vincent and his family.
“His commitment to delivering high-quality care has always been rooted in a desire to provide healing, safety and comfort to his community,” Holden said.
“Due to pending litigation and patient privacy laws, we cannot speak to the details of the care provided at this time.”
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