Back in 2018, 13-year-old Trenton McKinley was involved in a trailer accident, suffering such extensive head trauma that he ended up in a coma with suspected brain damage.
The boy would fight bitterly for his life, with doctors sure he was going to eventually succumb to his injuries and pass away. Only, when his parents signed papers to donate five of his organs to five separate children, something happened that no one thought possible.
When 13-year-old Trenton was involved in a freak utility vehicle accident, he ended up on the brink of death. Miraculously, he survived, but his brain was so badly damaged that he remained in a coma.
When Trenton arrived at hospital, doctors rushed him to surgery having found that he had seven skull fractures. Within the first few hours he died four times – one time he was ‘dead’ for 15 minutes before doctors could revive him, according to USA Today.
Doctors’ decision
Young Trenton had been brought back to life four times, though after the last time doctors could see no brain waves and noticed that he had a damaged brain stem.
The doctors deduced that Trenton was brain dead, and told the parents that the next time his heart stopped they would have to let him die.
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“The next time his heart stopped they had to let him die…or I could sign a paper to donate his organs to save five other kids… so I signed it… I knew he would not hesitate to save 5 more lives,” his mother, Jennifer Reindl wrote on Facebook.
Donating Trenton’s organs
When Jennifer and her husband were told there was no hope left for their son, they decided to take doctors up on the offer of organ donation.
“Five kids needed organs that matched him,” said Reindl. “It was unfair to keep bringing him back, because it was just damaging his organs even more.”
But, no sooner had they signed the donation papers than Trenton began to show signs of coming back from the verge. According to WALA news outlet, only a day before doctors were set to pull the plug did the boy display signs of mental cognition.
Missing a piece of his skull
Trenton was injured in March, when he was flipped in a car being pulled by a utility vehicle. As a result, he is now missing part of his skull and has lost a lot of weight, but his humour is still very much intact.
“I could turn my head to the side and use it as a bowl for chips and dip,” he joked some time after waking up.
Though Trenton has a long and tough rehabilitation ahead of him, he is thankful to have survived. He himself believes he went to heaven briefly.
“I was in an open field walking straight,” Trenton told WALA. “There’s no other explanation but God. There’s no other way. Even doctors said it.”
Jennifer has been using Facebook to keep others updated on her son’s condition. She is so grateful that he beat the overwhelming odds and wants to use his story to give hope to others.
13-year-old Trenton is now being described as a “miracle boy”, for no one can rightly explain how he woke from the coma. This proves that you should never stop hoping, because at the end of it all the impossible can actually happen.
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