Frisco 9-month-old baby survives near-death experience with flu: 'His heart stopped'

FRISCO, Texas - Flu cases are still on the rise, and the rate of hospitalizations is higher even than the 2016 and 2011 flu seasons, according to the CDC.

A Frisco 9-month-old baby recently survived a near-death experience with the flu.

His experience with the flu led him to have a cardiac arrest and stop breathing. Thankfully, he was at the hospital, where he was revived after 15 long minutes.

Local perspective:

Watching Avery Ash happy and recovering is something his parents thought they would never be able to do just a little over two weeks ago.

His father, Scott Ash, says he immediately called his mother.

"You've got to come home! I don't know if he is going to be here when you get here," Scott told his mother.

After Avery came down with the flu, his mother, Courtney Ash, said her pediatrician gave her the warning signs to watch for.

On Feb. 3, Avery was admitted to Plano Children's Health. Then four days later, he was discharged.

But Courtney says she trusted her instincts.

"Within 90 minutes of getting home, I took him back," she said. "His breathing was out of control again."

At the ER, doctors quickly determined they needed to intubate him.

"I remember walking in there, and there’s like 12 doctors in the trauma room," recalled Scott. "He's intubated. They can't figure out what is going on with his breathing. We were there a couple of hours, and then he crashed."

During treatment, Avery’s parents say he stopped breathing, and his heart stopped.

"They started doing CPR," said Courtney. "It was the worst 15 minutes of any parent's life.

Eventually, there was a heartbeat. 

"It was the eight days afterwards that were really hard because we’re just watching him lay there, and he’s hooked up to all kinds of things," said Scott. "He’s doing absolutely nothing. That tube had to come out before we could hold him again."

"Multiple days with doctors in the gray area. They can't tell you a lot," said Courtney. "Multiple days where, ‘Is survival on the table?’ And they could not answer that."

Avery’s MRI showed significant brain damage. But now, Avery is back to being an active baby.

Big picture view:

The Ashes hope others can learn to trust their instincts when it comes to a loved one's health. 

"Go to the pediatrician. Go to the urgent care. Ask again. Call again. It could be life or death," said Courtney. "Be the advocate for your child, for your spouse, for your best friend."

The Ashes say their whole family had the flu shot. 

Avery has no underlying health conditions, but he was battling a second virus with the flu and had bronchiolitis and croup symptoms.