A father in Texas, George Pickering II, entered Tomball Regional Medical Center wielding a firearm and proceeded to save his son’s life before surrendering to authorities and being charged with not one, but two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by the authorities.
Pickering’s son, 27-year-old George Pickering III, was declared brain dead by doctors at the hospital following a stroke he suffered back in January. Subsequently, physicians ordered a slow withdrawal of his life support systems — a terminal wean. But George II wasn’t having any of it.
Even though George III’s brother and mother had given their consent to place him on an organ donor’s list, his father was less convinced of his son’s brain dead status.
Marching into the hospital’s intensive care unit holding a gun, George II began to threaten the staff after they threatened to cut off his son’s life support.
The incident turned into a standoff, which lasted for three hours. During which time, George II felt his son squeeze his hand not once, but three or four times — offering all the proof he needed. His son was not brain dead, as the squeezes had come in response to George II commanding his son to squeeze.
George II was quoted by KPRC as having said that during the standoff, “George squeezed my hand three or four times on command”.
They were saying he was brain dead, he was a vegetable (…) George squeezed my hand three or four times on command
As a result of his father’s actions, George III is reportedly alive and well.
George II, who admitted he was drunk at the time of the incident, said that the only reason why he did what he did was because he knew that his son still had some life left in him, Fox 59 reported.
Eventually, following hours of negotiations, the drunk father surrendered to the authorities without any further complications.
While the elder Pickering was slapped with two charges as a result of the incident, KPRC reports that one charge was dropped while the other was reduced to a state jail felony for which he received credit for the time he spent in jail. He was released earlier this month.
The important thing is I’m alive and well, my father is home and we’re together again
George II said that what’s important is that he’s “alive and well,” his father is home and everyone’s back together.
