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The Lake Grove newborn whose family says he suffered life-threatening injuries after a botched circumcision, remains in the NICU following major surgery late this week — and is expected to need more operations in the coming months, his father said.
In an update about his son Cole, Tim Groth said surgeons on Thursday spent about three hours operating on Cole to address severe internal bleeding and extensive damage to his intestines.
The infant’s injuries were too severe to repair fully during the procedure, Groth wrote in a Facebook post. So instead of reconnecting the baby’s intestines, doctors attached an ostomy bag to divert waste and were able to close his abdomen.
Due to the extent of the damage, Cole will have to receive nutrition through an IV and he will not be able to eat normally for up to three months, Groth said. Meanwhile, the baby is continuing to fight for his life and build enough strength for another surgery, during which surgeons would reconnect the remaining sections of intestine and remove the ostomy bag, his family said.
“We remain hopeful,” Tim Groth wrote. “One day Cole will look back on everything this community has done to support him and our family and be proud that he fought such a strong fight.”
Cole’s ordeal began two weeks after he was born March 31 at Manhattan’s NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, which has declined to comment on Cole’s condition or the family’s description of what transpired, citing patient privacy policies.
Tim Groth said his baby boy had been diagnosed prenatally with complex congenital heart disease, but after a successful initial heart procedure, he was recovering well and scheduled to go home April 16 with his parents and 2-year-old brother.
On April 14, Cole underwent a circumcision that, his father said, led to catastrophic complications. Groth said the procedure was performed during the night shift, and that severe bleeding afterward went unaddressed for about seven hours — from around 2:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.
By then, Cole had lost nearly half of his blood volume and was in critical condition, the baby’s dad said.
When Tim’s wife Gabrielle arrived at the hospital that morning to prepare for her son’s discharge, she found Cole pale, cold, and clinging to life. Emergency intervention followed, but significant damage had already occurred, the family said.
Multiple surgeries revealed dead sections of Cole’s intestine that needed to be removed, Tim Groth said.
As Cole fights to recover, his parents say they are grateful for the overwhelming support from the community. A GoFundMe campaign launched to help raise awareness and support Cole’s care has collected more than $57,000 via 693 donations.
Cole’s devastating injuries and brave fight for survival have captured national attention.
Top photo: Facebook/Tim Groth
