A Queens toddler who went into Beth Israel Hospital for a routine circumcision died Tuesday after he was given a general anesthetic instead of a local one, his uncle says. Reportedly after being doped up the last thing the young boy, who would have turned two next month, did before going critical was wake up laughing and calling out for his mother.
Neither of the parents of Jamaal Coleson Jr. were in a position to speak to the media regarding their loss, but the boy's 23-year-old uncle vented his rage to the Post as he headed to the city from Atlanta. "He was so sweet and energetic and so happy, a very happy child. I am very upset and I am glad I am a couple of hundred miles away. I have time to calm down and say my prayers."
The hospital, for its part, is not trying to whitewash the situation. In a statement they sent out their condolences to the family and spelled out the next course of action. Namely to have the Medical Examiner's Office undergo a full review of the case (an autopsy was performed yesterday) while also reporting the case to the New York State Department of Health for review and conducting their own internal review which they will send to the Department of Health. Because really, this sort of thing just shouldn't happen.
Meanwhile, we have a sad and sneaking suspicion that "intactivists" (those who are against circumcision) are already lining up to use this story as a cautionary tale.
