On August 16, 2024, our son, Joseph Ali Leister, was born full-term with zero complications at St. Mary's General Hospital.

Almost three hours later after a nurse took him to clean him and do a basic check up, I had a strange feeling to checking up on him, so I asked the nurse to let me see him through the glass. He was lying there as nurses were attending to him, and out of nowhere, I watched him turn from pink to blue and gray.

I ran around to the other side of the floor to get to him, but the staff had already resuscitated him. Just like that, it happened a second and third time, as the staff kept bringing him back to life.

Joseph was then intubated and given an IV, and the hospital staff contacted St. Joseph's University Medical Center to request a transfer because they didn’t have a NICU.

Minutes later, an ambulance arrived with two nurses, a doctor, and two paramedics. Meanwhile, my wife was in another room, unaware that I had just watched our son die and be brought back to life three times. I wiped my face, went to her room, tried to act normal, and lied, saying that he needed to be transferred because the hospital didn’t have a special suction machine he needed. I watched them roll him away and followed the ambulance as much as I could, only to later find out they had to pull over on the side of the road to resuscitate him again.

That was two months ago. Since then, Joseph has been having seizures almost every day. He cannot breathe on his own without machines, the right side of his face randomly droops down to mimic a stroke, and almost every day, he requires manual resuscitation because sometimes even the machines aren’t enough. He has undergone genetic testing, three MRIs, a CT scan, a spinal tap, blood work, urine tests, and surgery to help open his airway to make breathing easier. He has had every test I’ve ever heard of, and we still don’t know what’s causing all of this.

Joseph’s head isn’t growing, and his brain function is extremely below average. We have been asked to sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order to let him pass on, which, sadly, is the only option we have left. Due to his severely impaired brain function, he would only be a body in a bed with no awareness of anything, which is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

As a final request before proceeding with the DNR, we’ve asked for a second opinion from another hospital because, despite all the testing, no one knows what’s causing his condition. Every doctor who has treated him has said they’ve never encountered a case like this.

We are making this request so that we don’t look back and regret not trying everything possible, because we truly have.

I am ashamed as a father, a man, and a person to have to ask for help like this, but unfortunately, we live in a time and place where money has become essential for everything.

I am asking for help to raise $33,000 Part of this amount will go to repay the $10,500 I have borrowed, as I haven’t returned to work since Joseph’s birth and needed to cover many unexpected expenses, from rent to transportation to consulting other doctors, even in other countries trying to find any hope in finding a reason.

Additionally, close to $6,000 is needed for his transfer to New York to confirm everything, as insurance will cover everything except the transfer, and they won’t allow the use of a private ambulance company. We’ll also need the same amount of $6,000 to transfer him back to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, and around $10,000 to cover funeral expenses, including the grave, the masjid, the gravestone, and transportation of his body.

I know what I’m asking for is not a small amount, and I am truly ashamed to be in this position. But we thank anyone who can help in any way and wish you and your loved ones nothing but a long, happy, and healthy life. May no one ever experience what we have been going through.