Teen Regains Consciousness After Parents Agree To Donate Organs

MOBILE, AL - A 13-year-old boy who suffered a serious brain injury regained consciousness after his parents agreed to donate his organs.

According to a report by Mobile's Fox affiliate, Trenton McKinley had been brain dead and was barely breathing, when his parents made the difficult decision to take him off life support and donate his organs. McKinley was involved in an accident two months ago during which he was riding in a small utility trailer being pulled by a dune buggy for kids. The trailer flipped and fell on top of him, causing seven skull fractures.

“All I saw was a stretcher with his feet hanging out. He was dead a total of 15 minutes,” said his mother, Jennifer Reindl, in an interview with Fox 10 in Mobile. “When he came back, they said he would never be normal again. They told me the oxidation problems would be so bad to his brain, that he would be a vegetable if he even made it.”

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A day before doctors were scheduled to take him off life support, McKinley started showing signs of cognition. Reports say McKinley is making progress beyond what was ever expected. He has lost 50 pounds and still deals with seizures and nerve issues on a daily basis.

A fund to help McKinley and his family has been set up on Facebook.

Photo from Money to Help Trenton Fundraiser Page

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