ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Tonight, a family is in a dispute with Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital to keep 16-year-old Titus Jermain Cromer Jr. on life support.
The teen's family says he is in a coma. Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital has informed the family that Cromer has lost all brain function.
James Rasor is an attorney representing the family.
"This is just a shocking and catastrophic case. It's every parent's worst nightmare," said Rasor.
He says Cromer is a good student who loves sports but that last week, he suffered an undisclosed injury.
"This injury was only nine days ago, and you have a health care provider that's insisting that they remove lifesaving treatment, and that's just wrong," said Rasor.
Rasor says doctors at Beaumont believe Cromer has irreversible brain damage but says his family is praying and wants more time before taking him off of life support.
"People do come back when health care providers say there's no chance, so there's no reason to rush this," Rasor added.
Rasor filed a temporary restraining order that expires Monday at noon.
"That is electronically filed with the circuit court. However, there's no guarantee that the judge is going to be able to hear that Monday by noon," he said.
So the family is desperately searching for a facility to take Cromer by Monday morning.
"It is crucially important that we find a long-term care facility for him. He's insured, he's medically stable, he's able to be transferred," he said.
Though the deadline is just a couple of days away, the family isn't giving up.
"We know Titus is in there. We know he's fighting. Let's give him a chance to fight for his life," Rasor said.
Beaumont Hospital released the following statement to Local 4 in response:
"We empathize deeply with families in these kinds of very difficult circumstances, but privacy laws prevent us from discussing the particulars of a patient’s care. We are committed to helping the family in every ethical and legal manner possible."