A 23-year-oldFarmingdaleman, who had remained in a coma since a car crash weeks ago, was taken off life support on Wednesday, April 29, at Nassau University Medical Center after a legal battle to keep him alive.
The family of Anthony Romeo Gestone had sued NUMC to keep the hospital from declaring him brain deadafter Gestone was critically injured on April 9 when his car struck a tree along Southern State Parkway. His mother had believed her son was still alive, prompting the legal action.
An agreement was reached in Nassau County State Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 28, where the family had 24 hours to transfer Gestone to another medical facility, or NUMC would be permitted to perform testing to determine if he had any brain function, according to court documents. The family was unable to find a transfer for Gestone, and the hospital declared him brain dead on Wednesday night, and later took him off life support, according to court documents.
“Tony will be remembered for his kind heart, loving spirit, and the deep impact he made on all who knew him,” an online obituary says about Gestone, while also saying he was a “beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and a devoted friend to many.”
A Nassau County Supreme Court judge had granted an emergency order that temporarily blocked the hospital from conducting brain death testing on Gestone after the lawsuit was filed on Friday, April 17.
Once Gestone arrived at NUMC after the incident, the trauma team observed severe skull deformities, multiple fractures, and active bleeding, and Gestone was rushed into emergency surgery. According to court filings, Gestone’s brain herniated both at the brainstem and past the midline, and physicians informed counsel that his brain “is not viable.”
Since April 10, the NUMC treatment team has maintained that there is no evidence of brainstem activity.
Gestone’s mother, Angelique Gestone, filed a petition, asking the court to prevent NUMC from performing an apnea test or nuclear SPECT brain perfusion scan — the final steps in determining brain death under New York State law.
The community had rallied around the Gestone family, with aGoFundMecampaign raising over $110,000 for medical and legal expenses.
Funeral services for Gestone will be held from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, and from 10 a.m. to 10:15. a.m on Thursday, May 7, at First Baptist Church of Patchogue, and visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Ruland Funeral Home in Patchogue, according to an online obituary.
Source: LI Press
