UPDATE: May 20, 2024
Asher’s family said goodbye to the 10-year-old during an honor walk at Vanderbilt Hospital. Asher gave the gift of organ donation to four other individuals.
The son of Rutherford County Schools Director Jimmy Sullivan passed away over the weekend.
Sullivan’s 10-year-old son, Asher, was on life support for weeks after he got caught in a storm drain and swept under neighborhood streets following the severe storms on May 8.
Sullivan stated the incident happened as neighborhood kids were playing while debris from the storm was being picked up throughout the area. When Asher was rescued from the drainage ditch, CPR was administered for quite some time. His heartbeat was reestablished but the damage was substantial, Sullivan said.
The 10-year-old had one brain stem reflex remaining the last few days which kept him from officially being declared brain dead. On Thursday, an MRI showed further progression of brain damage from five days earlier. However, while the family was away, Asher’s vitals crashed. His pulse and blood pressure became erratic, he lost the ability to control his temperature, and eye response ceased.
“Our sweet boy did what Asher has always done, he put others first. No longer did Kaycee and I have to make an impossible decision. Instead, he made it for us while we were out of the room,” Sullivan said. “No parent should have to watch this, but we knew for our hearts, we had to. The results showed us what we already knew, that our sweet Asher was already gone.”
Asher passed away on Saturday afternoon around 1:20 pm.
The family remains at Vanderbilt as Asher remains on life support due to the decision to have Asher bring life to others as an organ donor. There will be an honor walk at the hospital in the next few days for Asher to be celebrated as he is, a hero!
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