The family of Andres Banda, a 43-year-old husband and father from Lake Elsinore, is advocating to keep him on life support after doctors at Loma Linda Medical Center declared him brain-dead in February.
Banda was originally hospitalized with COVID-19 in January and was in intensive care when complications, including pneumonia, arose. Despite being put on life support, family members say he is responsive.
Just hours before he was scheduled to be disconnected from vital machinery on March 3, loved ones recorded what they believe to be signs of life: Banda’s eyes appearing to follow the cellphone his wife moved in front of his face. And they say he nodded his head “yes” in response to questions about wanting to live and go home.
“The same day they were going to disconnect him, I told my mom, ‘Wait! He just moved his hands!'” said Banda’s son, Andres Banda Jr.
Cellphone video shows him opening and blinking his eyes in various clips, which they insist is evidence that Banda is indeed responsive and therefore should not be removed from life support.
The family won a 24-hour extension that expires at noon Thursday to keep Banda on the machines until another doctor of their choice can evaluate him.
His wife Dalia Banda delivered an emotional plea on social media to keep her husband alive on life support equipment. She, her children and supporters demonstrated outside the hospital Wednesday, chanting, “Save Andres! Save Andres!” and “He wants to live! What these doctors are doing is murder!”
The family went to court Thursday morning to ask for a continued extension. A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge gave the family a three-week extension, keeping Banda on life-support, until an outside expert chosen by the family has an opportunity to evaluate him.
The 43-year-old worked as an upholsterer before COVID-19 sent him to intensive care on Jan. 6.
Family members say doctors at Loma Linda declared him brain-dead in February, attempting to remove him from life support — with or without the family’s approval, which is not required. Loved ones say doctors are unwavering, telling them his movements are not voluntary but spontaneous and caused by the machinery.
“I’m scared. I’m nervous. I’m so tired,” his wife says.
The hospital released a statement saying, in part, “We care deeply about each patient and family we serve. Patient privacy laws prohibit us from engaging in a public conversation on the clinical facts and circumstances surrounding any specific patient.”
The family created a GoFundMe page to help with legal fees and expenses.