Family of near-drowning victim Andres Facey launch GoFundMe to support toddler’s recovery on Gold Coast

A Gold Coast doctor may hold the key to reversing a toddler’s brain damage after he nearly drowned in a bath, as desperate relatives begin crowdfunding to support the costly treatment.

The family of a two-year-old boy who sustained brain damage after nearly drowning in a bath believe a Gold Coast doctor could hold the key to improving his condition.

Every parent’s worst nightmare unfolded last August when Pamela Facey discovered little Andres unconscious in a tub of water “less than 20cm” at a relative’s Toowoomba home.

The mother-of-four had run downstairs to check on her baby daughter who was crying, only to return upstairs where her older son Oscar, 4, uttered the words that would forever haunt her: “He said bubba was sleeping in the bath.”

Two-year-old Andres from Toowoomba will hopefully undergo hyperbaric treatment on the Gold Coast as his desperate family look to improve his brain damage sustained from a near-fatal drowning. Picture: supplied

A heroic neighbour rushed to Ms Facey’s aid upon hearing her screams as she carried the lifeless boy outside, quickly racing the pair to Toowoomba Base Hospital just minutes away.

Ms Facey said she was certain the boy was dead.

“I could tell he didn’t have a pulse,” she said in tears.

“I continued to do CPR in the car and I put him into the security’s arms at the hospital. There was a lot of doctors around us straight away,” she said.

“I have a lot of a guilt. There’s not a day I don’t cry about it.”

Little Andres remains in hospital as support workers search for a full-time carer. Picture: supplied

Loved ones prepared for the worst as the “beautiful boy who was always laughing” had his life support turned off: “He had a lung infection which they wanted to treat first to give him the best chance but did not expect him to survive,” she said.

“The day came to switch off the machines and our strong boy decided to fight some more - he started breathing on his own.”

Though a miracle, the boy now lives with brain damage and will require a full-time carer.

A GoFundMe has since been launched to support the boy’s recovery which will hopefully include hyperbaric treatment – known to have helped other near-drowning victims recover.

Devastated loved ones were told to prepare for the worst. Picture: supplied

The family will need to relocate to the Gold Coast, where Andres will undergo one-hour sessions costing $250 each, three times a week with Dr Reza Samvatat a Robina.

Ms Facey estimates costs will exceed $9000 in the first few weeks alone.

A total $2000 of a $40,000 goal has been raised in the week since the GoFundMe launched.

“Now that his needs are quite higher, it would be great if we could get him the hyperbaric treatment,” Ms Facey said.

Doctors believe hyperbaric treatment will improve the two-year-old’s condition. Picture: supplied

“One of the doctor’s said he’d be very surprised if he didn’t have a good recovery from it.

“There’s definitely hope. I can’t change the past. I can only keep putting my best foot forward.

“I need my kids more than they need me. He’s so beautiful and caring. I always wanted to know what he was laughing about – but he’s such a fighter now as well.”

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