Statement of Jonee Fonseca, Israel Stinson’s Mother

ROSEVILLE, Calif., May 11, 2016 – The following is a statement from Jonee Fonseca, Israel Stinson’s Mother:

It has been well over a month now that my fiancé and I have been fighting for our two-year-old son Israel’s life.

Doctors at Kaiser Roseville Medical Center declared Israel “brain dead” after an asthma attack left him unconscious. Israel has been on a ventilator since April 2 and was declared brain dead on April 14-almost a month ago.

Within 24 hours of being admitted to Kaiser, the hospital wanted to remove our son from life support. They said Israel would only live for a few days and his heart would soon stop beating. We were prepared to accept his death once his heart stopped. But one month later, Israel has proven the doctors wrong. He is a fighter!

We have been able to keep Israel on life support with the help of our legal team, but it has been a tough battle. We are mentally and physically drained, but spiritually we are stronger than ever because we know that Israel is still very much alive!

Three weeks ago, Israel started moving his head and upper body in response to our voice and touch. He has kicked his legs. And he has taken some breaths on his own “over” or in addition to the ventilator.

The doctors who declared Israel “dead” can see our son move his head and body in response to my voice. They listen to his beating heart. They tell me he is stable and that his organs are healthy. But they refuse to feed him. And because he didn’t pass their test-a test that was given almost a month ago-they want to kill him.

I am a mother, not a doctor. But I have started doing research into the brain and am learning new words like “neuroplasticity,” which is the brain’s amazing ability to change and even to repair itself after severe injuries. NBC just aired a documentary on this and asked the question I have been asking Kaiser: Are you pulling the plug too soon?

A neurologist who recently watched a video of Israel’s movements said “Any head movement by a person, whether to verbal stimuli or spontaneously, reveals that there is intact functioning of the brain” and that “it is completely illogical and against any brain death criteria standards to classify this child as brain dead.”

ISRAEL IS NOT DEAD. HE IS ALIVE.

Today we will face our toughest legal battle yet. I don’t know how much more time Kaiser will give my son. The best hope for Israel is to be transferred to another hospital that will provide Israel with nutrition and with a breathing tube. This needs to happen soon.

I am asking for anyone with connections to a hospital to please email me at saveisraelstinson@gmail.com and help us save our son’s life.