Father saved son's life after having 'stand-off' with SWAT team when doctors wrongfully declared him brain dead
A father ultimately saved his son's life after having a 'stand-off' with a SWAT team when doctors wrongfully declared his son brain dead.
Back in January 2015, George Pickering II went into Tomball Regional Medical Center with a gun and became involved in a 'stand-off' with a SWAT team.
George Pickering III, Pickering's son, was in the critical care unit in hospital on life support after suffering a massive stroke.
George had a long history of suffering from seizures, but one in January 2015 almost proved fatal.
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"They were saying he was brain dead, he was a vegetable," Pickering told Click 2 Houston.
"They were moving too fast. The hospital, the nurses, the doctors."
The hospital had ordered a 'terminal wean', which is a process used to slowly remove life support from patients.
Furthermore, an organ donation organization was informed George was an organ donor, suggesting they thought his life was coming to an end soon.
On the day of the 'stand-off' with the SWAT team, hospital staff told police they had become concerned about Pickering's welfare after he appeared intoxicated and belligerent.
Pickering's crazy plan did have some logic behind it, as he explained: "I knew if I had three or four hours that night that I would know whether George was brain dead."
Channel 2's Robert Arnold responded to that comment, asking: "Why did you feel that going and getting a gun and threatening people was your only option at that point?"
"At that point I had blinders on. All I knew I just needed to have this time with George," Pickering immediately responded.
During the incident at the hospital, Pickering closed a curtain to conceal himself and his son, and he later saw signs that convinced him of signs of life from his son.
"During that three hours, George squeezed my hand three or four times on command," Pickering added.
Pickering surrendered after officials were able to use a robot to peal back the curtain hiding Pickering and his son.
George ultimately made a full recovery, while Pickering spent 11 months in a state jail.
"The important thing is I'm alive and well, my father is home and we're together again," George told Click 2 Houston.
In a statement provided to the outlet, Tomball Regional Medical Center said: "Physicians use their medical knowledge and experience to develop a patient’s plan of care and these actions save lives each day.
"When a patient’s condition makes them unable to participate in their own care, the appropriate substitute decision-maker has the right to decide whether or not they will move forward with a recommended care plan. However, that decision must be expressed in a way that does not endanger other patients or caregivers.
"Due to strict privacy laws, we are unable to comment about individual patients, but we encourage you to contact local law enforcement for a complete picture of the events that took place."
Callum Jones