Mike on Crime

By THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON – A brain-injured baby whose parents dropped a court battle to keep him on life support has died in their arms.

Rebecka and Isaac May had been seeking to consult with medical experts to review whether their son, Isaiah, should be unhooked from the medical equipment that was keeping him alive.

Their lawyer, Rosanna Saccomani, said Isaiah was surrounded by his family when he died Thursday at around noon.

“Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts,” the parents said in a statement read by Saccomani.

“We will never forget the miracle of his birth, the Christmas we spent together and the early spring day when we said our goodbyes. We will always cherish our son and the gift of time with him.

“We have set our tiny miracle free and he is now home in the arms of angels.”

The court had been slated to hear details about an independent medical review of the boy’s condition, but the proceeding did not go ahead.

The baby was born last October with severe brain damage after his umbilical cord got wrapped around his throat, which deprived him of oxygen.

Doctors at Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital were planning to disconnect Isaiah from a ventilator on Jan. 20, but his parents persuaded a judge to give them time to get a second opinion.