What was meant to be a routine circumcision has turned into a nightmare for a Long Island family, whose infant son is now clinging to life in a New York City hospital.
Cole Jordan Groth was born on March 31 at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Despite being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, the newborn was otherwise healthy and was scheduled to go home on April 16 to meet his 2-year-old brother at the family’s home in Lake Grove.
But just two days earlier, the parents, Tim and Gabrielle Groth, received a call from hospital staff asking whether they wanted to proceed with a circumcision. They agreed—unaware that within hours, their son would be facing a life-threatening crisis.
“He almost bled to death,” said Tim Groth, 35, in an interview with The New York Post. “He started having seizures. He suffered damage to multiple organs. What was supposed to be routine became our worst nightmare.”
According to Groth, when Gabrielle arrived at the hospital the next day to review discharge details, she found Cole pale, screaming, and unresponsive. Doctors later revealed that the infant had lost about half of his blood volume.
Over the next 10 days, Cole underwent daily blood transfusions and several surgeries, including one to address intestinal failure caused by the blood loss. He has since been placed on a ventilator, relies on intravenous nutrition, and has a colostomy bag
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“Ever since the procedure, Cole has been fighting for his life,” said Groth. “He looks like he’s been through war—pale, with a visible ostomy opening. Part of me is angry because this was completely avoidable. And part of me is devastated. No parent should ever see their child suffer like this.”
Groth has filed a formal grievance with the hospital, raising serious concerns about the medical response. He claims a nurse first noticed the bleeding around 2:30 a.m. on April 15, but bloodwork wasn’t ordered until after 5 a.m., and the attending physician wasn’t informed until 8:30 a.m.—hours later.
“They failed to act urgently. They didn’t stop the bleeding in time. They didn’t assess how much blood he had lost,” Groth said. “You can’t go from a circumcision to a child almost dying and say that everything was done properly.”
Cole is expected to remain in the hospital’s cardiac neonatal intensive care unit for several months. Doctors are hopeful he can eventually undergo surgery to reconnect his intestines and remove the colostomy bag.
In the meantime, the Groth family launched a GoFundMe campaign on April 19 to raise funds for Cole’s extended medical care. As of Monday afternoon, nearly $60,000 had been raised—surpassing the original $50,000 goal.
There have been glimmers of hope. Cole hasn’t required a blood transfusion in several days, but his parents remain wary of long-term complications.
“I spent days just crying,” Groth admitted. “Now I’ve moved into survival mode. We have to plan for whatever comes next.”
While the hospital has expressed sympathy, Groth says it has stopped short of admitting fault.
“They’ve shown compassion and empathy—but no accountability,” he said. “They’ve chosen their words very carefully.”
A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian declined to comment, citing patient privacy policies.
Groth, who serves as CEO of a pain management practice founded by his physician father, said multiple family members in the medical field agree: the hospital failed to meet basic standards of care.
“This never should have happened,” he said. “There were so many opportunities to prevent this tragedy.”
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