A family is holding onto hope for a miracle at a Fort Worth hospital where their loved one is currently on life support.
Relatives of Daniel Tamayo suspect that he may have overdosed on his way to school on Monday. While the exact circumstances remain unclear, they do know that the 16-year-old got on the bus that morning but never made it back home.
Describing Daniel as kind and considerate, his sister Viviana Gutierrez fondly reminisced about him outside the hospital in an interview with NBC 5.
The last place Daniel was spotted by his family before the hospital admission was at a bus stop in Arlington. He got on the bus at 8 a.m. on Monday, and an hour later, his mother Alma Tamayo received a distressing call from the school.
Gutierrez recounted, “The school contacted my mom and informed her that it was an urgent situation and she needed to come to the hospital.”
The events that transpired between Daniel boarding the bus and arriving at Tarrant County’s Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program remain shrouded in uncertainty.
Fort Worth Police received a report about a young boy who had potentially overdosed on the school bus and was unresponsive.
Subsequently, he was initially taken to an adult hospital and later transferred to Cook Children’s Hospital due to severe brain swelling.
Despite extensive medical interventions, including CT scans that revealed significant brain swelling, the outlook has been bleak. Gutierrez tearfully conveyed, “They performed a CT scan before allowing us to see him and his brain was so swollen that there was little they could do for my Danny.”
After undergoing two brain death assessments that yielded unfavorable results, the hospital is contemplating discontinuing life support, while the family is asking for additional time and prayers for Daniel’s recovery.
In a statement issued on Thursday morning, Cook Children’s Health Care System outlined the circumstances surrounding Daniel’s condition, underscoring the severe brain damage resulting from prolonged lack of oxygen.
The hospital mentioned conducting further tests at the family’s behest, with all outcomes aligning with the initial diagnosis of brain death. They emphasized that maintaining privacy and showing sensitivity to the family’s ordeal are of utmost importance.
A subsequent brain death examination conducted on Thursday afternoon reaffirmed the earlier findings, solidifying the medical prognosis.
As the family remains by Daniel’s side at the hospital, hoping for a miraculous turnaround, Durham School Services, responsible for transporting students to the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program, opted not to provide further comments due to the ongoing police inquiry.