Parents of a newborn boy claim that their son is fighting for his life as he is in critical condition following a circumcision where he almost "bled to death."
The child was identified as Cole Groth, born to parents Tim and Gabrielle Groth on Mar. 31, 2025, at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. The infant was also found to have a heart disease and medical professionals placed a stent a few days after he was born.
Baby Nearly Bleeds to Death After Circumcision
Tim said that their situation was going relatively well and that their son was doing okay enough to be cleared for discharge. However, the hospital later asked the parents if they wanted their son to be circumcised, which is considered a routine procedure.
When the Groths agreed, they allege they were not told about the elevated risks for children who have congenital heart disease. The couple said that the day after their son's circumcision was the worst day of their lives, according to WCAX.
Gabrielle said that she walked in and found her son extremely pale and was crying like she never heard him before. The mother added that what she saw was not the healthy baby boy that she saw the day before the procedure.
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The father noted that throughout the night, their son continued to bleed, nearly to death. He added that the child's vital organs lost blood and oxygen and he also suffered liver damage, kidney damage, and brain damage.
He said that his son required a transfusion every day and had four surgeries in a week. Tim wondered how their son could go from a circumcision-stable situation to being in a life-or-death crisis, Local12 reported.
In a Critical Condition
When Cole was taken into emergency surgery, the doctors told the parents that the boy's intestines had died and turned black. They added that they found feces in his abdomen that they needed to cut out.
In a GoFundMe page for their son, the parents said that Cole was sitting in the ICU after being left cut open with countless tubes, medications, and fluids. Tim shared that words can only touch the surface of the pain that his son, wife, and family feel amid the situation.
The baby remained at the hospital in critical condition as of Apr. 20, 2025, and Tim is hoping that sharing their story can help prevent the incident from happening to other people. The father said that there is no place for carelessness in medicine, as per People.