Hope for Asher: Family calls young boy's life after near drowning a 'miracle'

Apr. 8—Vallery Fleming's scream pierced through the early summer evening air. Trevor Fleming followed his wife's stare to the swimming pool where their then 19-month-old son, Asher, was floating face down.

What followed next — the 25 minutes Asher had no heartbeat, the 3 1/2 weeks of treatment at Children's of Alabama in Birmingham, hearing his laugh again for the first time — the Flemings call a miracle.

This Easter Sunday, the Fleming family — Trevor, Vallery and their two daughters, 4-year-old Alora and 3-year-old Aleigh — are giving thanks for Asher's life.

"I am so grateful my family is together and that Asher is still here with us. Him being alive is the biggest blessing in my life. I am so thankful to God for his life," Vallery said. "For a while, we didn't know if he would survive." — June 9, 2022

With the day care the Flemings' children attended closed for vacation, Trevor and Vallery dropped Alora, Aleigh and Asher off at a relative's home to play with their cousins for the day. It was early evening when Trevor and Vallery returned from work to pick up the kids.

"We were calling them in from the backyard to come in for supper," Trevor said. "That's when we found out Asher was missing. I was scanning the backyard for ... my young'un when I heard Vallery scream."

Trevor and Vallery dove into the swimming pool and handed Asher to Vallery's brother, who stood at the edge of the pool. As they provided CPR to Asher, EMTs were dispatched to the home in Southeast Decatur, which sits four minutes from Decatur Morgan Hospital.

"There are no words to describe that feeling when we saw him lifeless. It was devastating, absolutely devastating," Trevor said.

At the hospital, Trevor and Vallery were ushered into a family consultation room, not knowing whether their son was alive or dead.

As they waited, they prayed.

"It felt like we were at the hospital forever before they stabilized him enough that they could MedFlight him to Children's Hospital," Vallery said. "Asher was without a heartbeat for 25 minutes or longer. When we found out he had a heartbeat, I felt like I could breathe again."

At 4:30 the next morning, Trevor and Vallery got to see Asher for the first time since the accident. Inside the hospital room, Asher lay swollen, his eyes closed and tubes snaking to his nose, mouth, chest and arms.

"They wouldn't let us cover him up because he was running a fever," Trevor said.

"But his body was freezing," Vallery added. "They gave him a 50-50 chance of making it through the next three days. They could see it going either way."

The medical team diagnosed Asher with anoxic brain injury from the lack of oxygen and pneumothorax, which is air around a lung, possibly resulting from the CPR given to him by the family.

"When we were giving him CPR, I guess we blew up his lungs a little too much. That's something for people to remember when giving CPR to young children, their lungs are not as big as ours," Trevor said.

For the first three days, as Asher battled a fever and remained sedated, the Flemings clung to their faith. Vallery listened to "Million Little Miracles" on repeat and held onto Jeremiah 29:11: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

"In the beginning, every time the doctors came in, they told us something I didn't want to hear. I would get lightheaded and fall down. I just had to stay in the Bible," Vallery said. "Before Asher's accident, we found a church home we loved and were growing our relationship with God. I'm so grateful we had a bit of a relationship with God. If not, I don't know how we would have made it through that time."

On his fourth day at the hospital, Asher started breathing on the CPAP, but remained coma-like — only moving when he would neurostorm, which caused his heart rate to skyrocket and his body to become stiff.

"Once they knew he would survive, they told us they weren't sure how his quality of life would be. It was a very devastating time," Trevor said.

While at the hospital, Vallery connected with a Facebook group of mothers whose children nearly drowned.

"They were deadset on that if Asher made it we need to get him to a hyperbaric chamber," Vallery said.

Used for deep sea divers and underwater welders who ascend too quickly, the pressurized chamber helps individuals absorb oxygen and accelerates healing.

On July 3, the hospital discharged Asher.

"He was still in pretty rough shape. He was on a ventilator still and we were having to give him medications every two to three hours. We also, and still do, feed him through a gastronomy tube," Vallery said.

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More treatments

A day after arriving home, the Flemings left for New Orleans where Dr. Paul Harch, one of the preeminent medical professionals using hyperbaric chambers, practices.

Over the course of the two months the family spent in New Orleans, Asher received 30 one-hour sessions in the hyperbaric chamber, began going to physical, occupational and speech therapy, started seeing a chiropractor and underwent laser therapy.

"We met some amazing people down there. The people who did Asher's laser therapy ended up doing it for free. And they gave it to him seven days a week. They would come in on Saturday and Sunday when the office wasn't open to treat him. All the support we got was amazing," Trevor said.

Trevor and Vallery saw the impact of the therapies immediately. Asher became less tense, was able to turn his head more, had better digestion and started smiling.

Two weeks after returning home to Alabama, he laughed for the first time since the accident.

"I cried when I heard it because he hadn't made any sound so far," Vallery said. "You could see in his eyes that he started to come to more. I could not thank God enough for that sound. It was definitely one of my favorite days, besides the day that God allowed our son to live."

Since returning home, the Flemings continued Asher's treatments, started him on MNRI therapy, which focuses on reestablishing his reflexes, and raised enough money to buy a hyperbaric chamber for their home.

Currently, the family is trying to raise the funds for stem cell therapy, which costs $8,500 in Mexico.

"We have received so much help from our friends and family. They have helped us pay for his treatments. Someone built a stander that allows Asher to stand. I never expected anybody to do this for us. It just shows you what people will do for you. It's been a blessing," Trevor said.

Along with anoxic brain injury — brain cells dying from lack of oxygen — doctors have diagnosed Asher with cortical vision impairment and spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

"We are all still healing," Vallery said. "This has affected our whole family. For the first four months after the accident, our girls played CPR on their babies. And they act out that their baby fell into the pool and needs to go to the doctors. It's sad to see and hear them play like that, but I know they need to get it out."

On a recent afternoon, as Vallery stroked her son's light-brown hair and sang his name, a smile crossed Asher's face.

"We've got a long way to go, but look at that smile. It is a miracle to just see that smile. It is amazing to still have our happy-go-lucky boy with us," said Vallery, whose family lives with her brother, sister-in-law and their five children. "My nephew is three months older than Asher. He will drive his trucks on Asher and bring him toys. Asher's cousins and sisters really include him a lot. I'm so grateful for that."

Since the accident, Vallery has become an advocate, frequently posting about drowning awareness on Facebook. A recent post featured the message "In 30 seconds toddlers can ... find your makeup, delete five apps on your phone, empty pantry shelves, find water and drown."

"My prayer is that no other family has to go through this," Vallery said. "My prayer for Asher is for complete healing, for him to fully recover and that I get to see him walking and running around with his sisters and cousins again. That is my prayer."

To follow Asher's journey and to find out how to donate, visit the Hope for Asher page on Facebook.

— cgodbey@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2441. Twitter @DecaturLiving.