“None of them deserved this”

In a moment no family should ever have to endure, Alastor’s siblings were present during a brain activity test — only to learn there was no brain function.

“My other children wanted to be there for his test [last] Friday and watching them each break down destroyed a part of me,” Ryan said. “None of them deserved this. I would do anything just to take their pain away.”

Remembering his son, he described Alastor as “such a happy baby and in his short time he became the center of our family,” adding that he still does not “want to believe this is real.”

Coffin later shared that Alastor had also been diagnosed with the little-known human metapneumovirus, a respiratory virus that, along with croup, can “cause the swelling in his throat and make it hard for him to breathe.” The virus has been on the rise in recent months and can be especially dangerous for infants.

“HMPV causes symptoms very similar to RSV,” says Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases. “This includes upper respiratory symptoms that sometimes progress to pneumonia or bronchiolitis and wheezing.”

As the Coffin family grapple with their grief, the parents say they are now considering legal action against the first hospital that treated their son, questioning whether more could have been done — and whether decisions were made too quickly.

Denied access to his son in intensive care

“We wanted to give him time to rest and see if there was any chance that his brain could heal at all,” Ryan wrote.

He added that Alastor’s other organs were “working fine” and that he was not “suffering or taking up a bed that could be used by someone else.” When he asked why there seemed to be a “rush” to perform brain death testing, he said, “they wouldn’t answer.”

Ryan also described a painful moment when he was briefly denied access to his son in intensive care.

“I even told the guard that I have been in his room every day and no one has said anything,” he said. “It’s like he almost didn’t believe me… I haven’t threatened anyone here. I haven’t even raised my voice with anyone.”

Although a nurse eventually allowed him in, the experience only deepened the family’s anguish.

“Not only has this been one of the worst experiences of our lives but this hospital has made it so much worse,” he said.

Now, as they prepare for their final moments with their son, the family is surrounded by support from loved ones, with a fundraiser helping to ease some of the financial burden. Their attorney told KDVR Denver that Alastor will is expected to be taken off life support on Friday.

“I just want all of this to be over already,” Ryan wrote.

What a horrific tragedy this is. Alastor’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of how quickly life can change — and of the unimaginable strength it takes for a family to say goodbye to a child far too soon.