US4 min(s) read
Published 16:26 15 Apr 2026 GMT
A one-year-old boy from Colorado is set to be taken off life support on Friday after falling seriously ill with the flu and croup, according to his devastated parents.
His parents, Eric Ryan and Maegan Coffin, say they are now preparing to say goodbye to their beloved young son, Alastor, after his condition rapidly worsened following his hospital admission back in January this year.
The couple first brought him to an A&E department in Northglenn, near Denver, on January 9, where he was diagnosed with the flu and croup, before being sent home with medication, but when he showed no signs of improvement, they rushed him back to the hospital.
“After they did the X-ray, he stopped breathing,” Coffin recalled.
Doctors attempted to intubate the toddler before transferring him by ambulance to another nearby hospital, with his heartbroken mother attributing the transfer to a potentially prolonged period without oxygen.
Over the weekend, Ryan shared the update that his son had effectively been declared dead. “It took me a while to be able to even write this,” he said. “We always understood how severe his situation was but we would never give up hope on him.”
Alastor’s siblings were present for a brain activity test, only to be left devastated by the outcome that there was no brain function in their little brother, leaving doctors and his family to make the crushing decision.
Their father, Ryan, described the moment, saying: “My other children wanted to be there for his test [last] Friday and watching them each break down destroyed a part of me.” He added: “None of them deserved this. I would do anything just to take their pain away.”
Remembering his son with immense fondness, he said Alastor was “such a happy baby and in his short time he became the center of our family,” adding that he still does not “want to believe this is real.”
Coffin later explained that her son had also been diagnosed with human metapneumovirus, which, along with croup, can “cause the swelling in his throat and make it hard for him to breathe.”
Health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have reported an increase in cases of the virus, which is most common in winter and spring and currently has no vaccine or specific treatment. The Cleveland Clinic notes that it can be particularly severe in infants between six and 12 months old.
The couple is now considering legal action against the first hospital that treated their son, believing more could have been done. Ryan also expressed concerns about how quickly doctors pushed for a brain death test.
“We wanted to give him time to rest and see if there was any chance that his brain could heal at all,” he wrote earlier this month.
He added that Alastor’s other organs were “working fine” and that he was not “suffering or taking up a bed that could be used by someone else.” When he questioned why there was a “rush” to carry out the test, he claimed, “they wouldn’t answer.”
Ryan also shared frustration over an incident where he was briefly prevented from seeing his son in intensive care. “I even told the guard that I have been in his room every day and no one has said anything,” he said, adding: “It’s like he almost didn’t believe me… I haven’t threatened anyone here. I haven’t even raised my voice with anyone.”
A nurse eventually intervened to allow him access, but Ryan said the experience added to their pain: “Not only has this been one of the worst experiences of our lives but this hospital has made it so much worse.”
As the family faces the unimaginable, Ryan wrote: “I just want all of this to be over already.”
A fundraiser has been set up to help cover living costs, raising thousands of dollars as loved ones rally around the grieving family.
