Father Accuses Russell Medical Center of Negligence After Son Nearly Suffocates From Swallowed Object
A father in Alabama, Orlando Withers, has publicly called out Russell Medical Center for alleged negligence after his young son, Jaxon Withers, was left waiting for hours despite showing signs of a life-threatening medical emergency.
Withers shared his account on social media, stating that his son began choking and foaming at the mouth after swallowing an unknown object. In a panic, the family rushed him to Russell Medical Center’s emergency room.
According to Withers, staff told them to take a seat and wait, despite his son visibly gasping for air and clutching his throat.
“We got there at 1:05. My son was screaming, crying, and gasping for oxygen. Hours later, he was still in pain while other patients with less severe conditions were taken back first,” Withers wrote.
He further claimed that at 3:30 p.m., a white family with a child suffering from a rash was admitted immediately, while his son—still choking—remained in the waiting room. When he confronted staff about the delay, he was reportedly told it was “up to the nurses and doctors” to decide who was called in.
By 4:30 p.m., Withers decided he could no longer wait. He drove his son to Coosa Valley Medical Center in Sylacauga, where staff immediately took Jaxon in for X-rays. Doctors there discovered an object lodged in the child’s airway and arranged for him to be transferred to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham for emergency surgery.
Fortunately, the object was successfully removed, and Jaxon has since returned home in stable condition.
Withers, however, is demanding accountability.
“Jaxon is doing fine now, but I want the names of everyone who was on shift at Russell Medical Center that day. I’ve already filed paperwork, and I’m contacting the head administrators. This negligence could have cost my son his life,” he declared.
The case has sparked outrage online, with many community members calling for a full investigation into the hospital’s handling of the situation.
