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Kingston Holmes has been fighting for his life at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland for more than a month. Holmes has been on a breathing machine after suffering severe brain injury due to cardiac arrest at the family's home in Fairfield on Aug. 5.
The family has been praying for a miracle since they say they've seen progress in Holmes' medical condition.
"This is one of the most devastating things that I've ever been through," said Kingston's mom, Cresha Batte. "My son, he still has brain function. He is not clinically brain dead."
On Friday, doctors gave them a letter stating, "His breathing machines will be turned off on Monday, September 17 at 1 p.m." due to irreversible brain injury.
"We weren't invited to no meetings that had anything to do with the decision making of my son," said dad Peter Holmes. "I don't think that's fair at all."
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Despite doctors' prognosis, the family says they've seen signs of life. "He is moving, he's wiggling his toes," said Batte.
The hospital changed course, now saying that the breathing machine will not be shut off and are giving the family more time to either get a second opinion and/or find a new facility.
"We're just waiting on Kingston to prove them wrong," said Holmes.
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A rally to support the Holmes family took place outside the hospital late Monday morning.
"We are going to work diligently to get him to another facility so we can receive the best care for our son. And that is just our main goal right now," said Batte.
The hospital released a statement on Monday afternoon. Here it is in full:
"UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland greatly empathizes with the family of Kingston Holmes. We are dedicated to saving and protecting the lives of the children for whom we care. The prospect of losing a child is one of the most difficult situations a family can face and is deeply upsetting to our clinical teams who work tirelessly to provide the best care for patients in dire situations.
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Due to patient privacy laws, we are not able to comment regarding the infant's specific situation, other than to say that there will be no action today in removing life support. As in all situations in our hospital, the decision to limit or withdraw life support is not taken lightly. From the time a patient enters the hospital, our clinical teams work with families to discuss the patient's care planning, prognosis, chance of survival, and opportunity for second opinions and transfer to another hospital.
At the same time, every effort is made to allow the family time to grieve, while still recognizing that certain patients are, unfortunately, sent to us in such grave condition that they will not benefit from additional care.
As part of this process, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals seeks additional medical opinions on the patient's situation and prognosis from outside physicians who are not involved in the patient's care. Our clinical team also assists the family with names and contact information for qualified outside experts if the family would prefer to contact them independently. In situations in which the patient is able to be transferred, the clinical team contacts outside medical centers to identify hospitals that could accommodate the patient's medical needs.
While we are not able to provide further details, our hearts are with the family in this difficult time."