An Arizona mother who was forced to say goodbye to her 18-month-old son after doctors pronounced him dead is speaking out about the astonishing discovery that he was still alive more than five hours later inside a hospital morgue.
Alexus Fiordilino says her family endured an unimaginable ordeal after her toddler, Vincent, was found face down in a backyard swimming pool in Gilbert, Arizona, on February 8, 2026.
The little boy was rushed to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where doctors attempted to save his life. But just minutes after he arrived, an emergency room physician pronounced him dead.
His devastated mother held him one final time, believing she would never see him alive again.
“I had to say goodbye,” Fiordilino recalled during an emotional interview with ABC15. “Do you know how hard that is?”
What happened next has raised troubling questions about the hospital’s handling of the emergency, particularly after police records revealed that officers and family members had noticed possible signs of life before Vincent was taken to the morgue.
According to medical records reviewed by local investigators, Vincent arrived at the hospital around 6:04 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. by emergency room physician Dr. Aryan Toosi.
Fiordilino recalled the doctor explaining that her son’s blood was dangerously acidic and that even if he survived, he could face severe disabilities and suffering.
The mother said she begged for her son to survive, but eventually embraced his cold body and prepared to leave the hospital without him.
However, her family had already begun questioning whether Vincent was truly dead.
Fiordilino said her mother-in-law noticed what sounded like breathing while hugging the little boy. Hospital staff reportedly explained that the sounds were normal after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts.
Police records obtained by ABC15 revealed even more concerning details.
One officer reported hearing a nurse announce that she had detected a pulse. Another documented apparent gasping and movement in Vincent’s chest and stomach after he had been declared dead.
When an officer raised concerns with Toosi, the physician reportedly insisted that he was qualified to make the medical decision and told the officer to allow him to do his job.
Despite those observations, Vincent was transferred to the hospital’s cold room, which serves as its morgue.
At approximately 11:52 p.m., when personnel arrived to transport his body to the medical examiner’s office, they discovered that the toddler was breathing.
More than five hours had passed since he was pronounced dead.
The discovery triggered an emergency response, and Vincent was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for specialized treatment.
Although the little boy survived, doctors subsequently identified significant brain damage. His family says he now faces substantial medical challenges and will require lifelong assistance.
The discovery that Vincent was alive has also prompted questions about whether critical medical decisions were made before necessary test results became available.
According to ABC15, records reviewed by investigators indicate that Toosi pronounced Vincent dead at 6:20 p.m., but results from a blood-gas test cited in the doctor’s medical reasoning apparently did not become available until 6:38 p.m.
Additional documents reviewed by Arizona’s Family show that an arterial blood-gas test was ordered and subsequently canceled before Vincent was pronounced dead.
The family’s attorney, John Brewer, has questioned the decision not to measure the toddler’s core body temperature or attempt warming measures during resuscitation.
Those concerns have not established whether different treatment would have changed Vincent’s neurological outcome, but they are central to the family’s pursuit of accountability.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center previously said it conducted a thorough review of the incident and worked to identify improvements in patient care.
Dignity Health, which operates the hospital, described the situation as heartbreaking but declined to discuss the child’s medical treatment, citing patient privacy.
An attorney representing Toosi said the physician wishes Vincent continued recovery and remains committed to providing quality medical care. The attorney declined to address specific treatment decisions because of pending litigation and privacy restrictions.
Gilbert police have also investigated the incident. Authorities said their findings did not establish probable cause for criminal charges against medical personnel.
Police have indicated that the case is being referred to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for consideration, although the office said it had not yet decided whether to undertake a review.
Separately, prosecutors declined to pursue charges against Vincent’s parents in connection with the swimming pool incident, citing insufficient evidence to support a conviction.
For Fiordilino, the emotional toll continues long after the discovery that her son had survived.
She has shared photographs of Vincent participating in physical therapy and says the child she brought home has very different needs from the healthy little boy she remembers before the accident.
While grateful that Vincent is alive, she remains devastated by the hours he spent in the hospital morgue and the lasting medical challenges he now faces.
Her family continues seeking answers about how a child showing possible signs of life could have been pronounced dead and left in a morgue for hours before receiving further emergency treatment.
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