A 2-year-old Texas girl whose parents fought a legal battle to prevent doctors from testing whether she was brain dead after a hotel pool drowning has died.
Annelise Camp was removed from life support Monday, Aug. 3, about 10 weeks after she was found unconscious in a hotel swimming pool on Memorial Day. Her grandfather, Steve Camp, said she died shortly after her breathing tube was removed.
“This past Monday Annelise was extubated, taking out the tubes, they kept her breathing these last ten weeks since her accidental drowning on Memorial Day,” Steve Camp wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. “When this procedure was done, she passed very quickly.”
Annelise’s death comes after her parents, Johnston and Joy Camp, spent weeks fighting to prevent doctors from conducting brain death testing, according to reports from People and AP News. The family argued the testing conflicted with their religious beliefs and wanted more time to pursue treatment options for their daughter.
How Annelise ended up in the hospital
Annelise was visiting relatives with her family May 25 when she wandered away and was later found unconscious in a hotel pool by a cousin.
Her father, Johnston Camp, told KTRK-TV that he performed CPR after finding her with water coming from her mouth. It took about an hour for her heartbeat to return, he told the station.
Annelise was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and placed on a ventilator. Her heart continued beating, but she remained dependent on the ventilator, AP News reported.
After doctors said they had exhausted treatment options, the Camps filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent brain death testing, the Texas Tribune reported.
Why did her parents fight brain death testing?
Under Texas law, brain death is defined as the irreversible cessation of all brain function. Hospitals are not required to obtain family consent before conducting brain death testing, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Camps wanted additional time for Annelise to recover and sought to transfer her to another hospital for further treatment.
Texas Children’s said it wanted to conduct testing to help guide Annelise’s care and said there were no imminent plans to end treatment regardless of the results, People reported.
A judge later granted the family a temporary injunction. Annelise was eventually transferred from Texas Children’s Hospital to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, according to the Texas Tribune.
Annelise’s final weeks
In July, the family said Annelise was showing “encouraging signs” and that they were pursuing specialized and exploratory treatments. Texas State Rep. Steve Toth later told the Texas Tribune that she had returned to Texas and was being treated at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler.
It remains unclear why Annelise was removed from life support. Her parents announced her death on GoFundMe, writing, “Annelise is now with Jesus.”
Toth told the Texas Tribune that Annelise’s death was traumatic for her family and said he hopes the case prompts broader changes to how brain death and life-sustaining treatment are handled. “Life is fragile, it shouldn’t be disposable,” he said.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT