A New York City couple and their newborn son are going through a rough time weeks after the little one almost bled to death following a circumcision after birth. Tim and Gabrielle Groth are hoping that their son, Cole, survives this heartbreaking incident.
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According to CBS News, Tim and Gabrielle welcomed Cole on March 31 at the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, located in Manhattan. Days after he was born, doctors placed a stent in his heart. This was done to address a known heart disease that Cole was born with. However, it was all expected, and according to Tim, "Everything was going well. He was doing so well that he was cleared for a discharge."
However, while Cole was doing well, they received an offer from the hospital. They were asked if they wished to have baby Cole circumcised, a routine procedure at the Manhattan hospital.
"We were called and asked if we wanted to move forward with circumcision, and we just said yes," Tim added. "We weren't aware of any of the risks; we didn't really. No one told us that there were elevated risks for children with CHD (congenital heart disease)."
According to the Groth couple, what followed was one of the worst days of their lives. "I walk in and he is extremely pale. He is crying like I've never heard before," Gabrielle said. "It was not my healthy boy I saw just the day before."
Bleeding To Death
Tim told the outlet that Cole, for approximately 10 hours throughout the night, almost slowly bled to death. His vital organs lost blood and oxygen, and his liver, kidneys, and brain suffered damage. "How does that happen in a cardiac [neonatal intensive care unit]?" Tim asked.
As a result of his devastating blood loss, Cole Groth remains in critical condition at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. As per Tim, Coles undergoes daily blood transfusions. Moreover, his newborn son has had four surgeries since birth.
"Trying to understand how you could go from a circumcision, in what seemed like a stable baby, to crisis," Tim added. Meanwhile, Gabrielle, who, alongside her husband, hopes to bring Cole home to meet his two-year-old brother, Bryce, is hopeful that Cole will get through this.
"I want him to know how strong he is and the strength he showed, and how much he fought," Gabrielle said.
When contacted by media outlets, the hospital stated that they were unable to comment on the case due to "patient privacy policies."
