The family of a young girl is in a desperate battle to ensure she receives the best possible care after a near-drowning incident left her in critical condition. This tragic event unfolded during a Memorial Day gathering in Houston.
Two-year-old Annelise Camp has been under the care of Texas Children’s Hospital since she was found unresponsive at a hotel pool. Her father, Johnston Camp, recounted how the accident happened after she momentarily slipped away from the watchful eyes of her family.
The distressing discovery was made by Annelise’s 12-year-old cousin, who spotted her at the bottom of the pool.
“Her 12-year-old cousin found her at the bottom of the pool,” Camp explained, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
Johnston Camp acted quickly, performing CPR on Annelise in an attempt to save her life.
“She had water coming out of her mouth,” he recalled, describing the harrowing scene.
Since then, family members have remained by Annelise’s side while praying for her recovery. Camp said the first days following the incident were difficult, but he believes there have been signs of improvement.
“The first couple days were very turbulent. Then her vitals started to level out,” he said.
The family has also taken legal action to prevent the hospital from declaring Annelise brain dead while they pursue additional treatment options. A court injunction temporarily blocks such a declaration until Friday, according to Camp.
“The staff has been wonderful, but the legal system gave us certain restraints,” Camp said. “If she would’ve been declared brain dead, it could’ve greatly limited her ability to receive treatment moving forward.”
Camp said he hopes to transfer his daughter to another facility where she could receive hyperbaric and stem cell treatments that he believes are not available at Texas Children’s.
“With all these positive results, you can’t cut her lifeline off four or five days into it and prevent her from additional treatments,” he said.
Attorney Aaron Arenas, who is not involved in the case, said legal disputes involving life-support decisions can arise when families seek additional time or treatment options.
“Is it that common? No,” Arenas said. “It really depends on if you have doctors saying one thing, and usually it’s a child, and you’re not ready to give up on them.”
Arenas said families can communicate with medical providers and seek legal counsel before decisions are finalized. He noted that hospital ethics committees are often involved in evaluating potential next steps.
“What usually happens is there’s an ethics committee working to find out, if we can help, can we move this patient somewhere?” Arenas said.
Camp said his family remains committed to pursuing every available option for Annelise while relying on their faith.
“This is a girl who never gave up when I asked her to do something,” Camp said. “I’m never going to give up on her.”
Texas Children’s Hospital said it is evaluating all viable medical options and working to honor the family’s wishes as Annelise’s treatment continues.
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