The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the state police and the National Guard escorted a toddler and his family 80 miles to Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System's Janet Weis Children's Hospital to help the child receive care for bleeding caused by a rare heart defect during a severe winter storm Wednesday, according The Morning Call.
The child's mother, Nicole Gingerlowski, told The Morning Call Bentley Gingerlowski was born with a rare congenital heart defect and a low platelet condition, which caused the two-year-old to suffer internal bleeding Tuesday morning.
The parents initially took the toddler to East Stroudsburg, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono to receive treatment. Hospital officials and the child's parents decided the child should be transferred to Janet Weis Children's Hospital for evaluation by his specialist, who had been treating Bentley since he was born.
The hospitals organized a convoy of snow plows, aided by the National Guard and state police, to transport the child. The normally hour-and-a-half long trip took more than three hours due to unsafe road conditions, according to the report.
His parents said Bentley safely arrived at the hospital and received platelets and steroids to halt the bleeding, according to the report. Officials said he is now in stable condition, but will remain at the hospital to undergo additional testing.