Neurologist from Cuba wants to travel to US to examine 10-month-old boy on life support
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A neurologist from Cuba said he wants to travel to the U.S. to examine Baby Nick if the court allows it.
Dr. Calixto Machado, the Senior Professor and Researcher in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Havana, Cuba, specializes in brain dead cases.
On Friday, Kevin Acevedo, the attorney of Nick's parents, Mario and Patty Torres, said the emergency appeal the family filed in the beginning of the week was denied by the Harris County Court of Appeals.
Acevedo said he filed another emergency motion Friday morning, asking the courts to allow the 10-month-old to undergo further evaluations and to be fed more nutrients.
"If this is a corpse, I want the hospital to explain this to me. If this is a dead body, how does this baby still have urine? This is not normal behavior for a dead body," Acevedo explained.
He also added that he submitted paperwork to the courts showing that Machado has been studying Nick's case, and has worked with cases similar to this one.
"Give us a little more time and we will be able to prove that this baby is still alive," Acevedo added.
Family members have been embroiled in a legal battle since just after Nick Torres was found unresponsive in a bathtub on Sept. 24. His family said his heart is still beating on its own and is asking for more time to find a hospital that will be able to care for him.
An emergency appeal was filed on Sunday with the Harris County Court of Appeals after a judge denied a temporary injunction filed by the family last week and granted Texas Children's Hospital the power to take Nick off life support Monday.
The baby's doctors said he doesn't have any brain activity and needs to be taken off life support.
In a press conference Monday afternoon, the family's attorney said the family has made preparations for hospice care if they are allowed to take Nick from the hospital. After the court's decision that all evidence and documents need to be submitted by mid-week, the attorney told ABC13 he expects a decision will come by the end of the week.
In a social media video Monday morning, Nick's mother Patty Torres pleaded with viewers to help her keep him alive.
"I want to leave it to God, for God to decide if he wants to take him," she said. "I want God to decide, not the hospital, not the court, not nobody."
In the new motion filed by baby Nick's family, their attorney asked for more time to keep Nick alive and an accelerated appeals process.
Kevin Acevedo, the attorney of Nick's parents, Mario and Patty Torres, indicated they are willing to take this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Outside the courthouse on Friday, dozens of people, including members of Nick's family, protested to keep him on life support.
SEE MORE:
District judge grants more time for 10-month-old baby on life support
Hospital asks Texas Supreme Court to speed up review of baby on life support
