Dying baby receives tracheotomy in U.S. after London hospital refuses procedure

A dying Ontario baby has received a tracheotomy at a United States hospital after doctors at a London hospital refused to perform the procedure.

The parents of terminally ill 13-month-old Joseph Maraachli flew to St. Louis for treatment, and Joseph went into surgery at SSM Cardinal Grennon Children’s Medical Center on Monday.

The family, who has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle in Canada, will stay in the U.S. for at least a week before heading home to Windsor.

Joseph suffers from a severe and worsening neurological condition and had been in the London Health Sciences Centre since October 2010.

His parents, Moe Maraachli and Sana Nader, wanted doctors to perform the tracheotomy and then take Joseph home for his final days.

The hospital refused, saying the family could take Joseph home, but they would not perform the tracheotomy. Hospital staff said the operation would be invasive and futile.

The family said if the hospital took away Joseph’s breathing tube, but did not go through with the operation, the infant would have a painful, choking, death.

Maraachli and his wife have been through this heartbreak before. Their daughter had the same disease and died almost nine years ago at the age of 18 months. She received a tracheotomy and lived at home for six months.

“When she passed away, she was in my arms, peacefully,” said Maraachli.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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