Quebec boy breathing on his own after court-ordered extubation

The Quebec child who was extubated following a court ruling earlier this year is breathing on his own and will return home on Monday, according to his mother.

"The child was extubated by order of the Court of Appeal," said his mother in a message sent to CTV News. "He has been extubated for two months, and by the grace of God, he breathes alone."

In June 2022, the five-year-old boy fell into a coma after nearly drowning in a family pool.

After months in intensive care, doctors at the Sainte-Justine hospital in Montreal recommended removing his breathing tube so he could return home and receive physical therapy.

They said delaying the procedure could limit the chances of this happening.

His parents refused to consent unless the hospital agreed to re-intubate him if something went wrong.

But doctors said the breathing tube was doing more harm than good, arguing the child should receive end-of-life care in the case of an unsuccessful extubation.

Saint-Justine brought the case to court in November 2022 and won.

Superior Court Justice Bernard Jolin said the parents' objections were not in the child's best interest.

Court evidence showed the boy, now age six, suffered irreversible brain damage.

The boy's family appealed the decision, but without success; in January 2023, Quebec's Court of Appeal ruled the child's breathing tube could be removed despite his parent's objections.

The family will celebrate the boy's discharge Monday during a "peaceful gathering" in front of the Saint-Justine hospital.

With files from The Canadian Press.