HOUSTON, Texas — A glimmer of hope has emerged for a toddler at the center of one of the most heartbreaking medical and legal battles in recent Texas history, as a Louisiana hospital has agreed to accept 2-and-a-half-year-old Annelise Camp for continued care and specialized treatment.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed the development, announcing that Ochsner Children’s Hospital in Louisiana has accepted Annelise’s transfer. Paxton expressed deep gratitude toward the medical staff at Ochsner Health, calling their willingness to step in a source of renewed hope for the family during an extraordinarily painful time. He also asked the public to pray for Annelise, her family, and every medical professional involved in her care.
The story began on Memorial Day when Annelise’s family was visiting relatives and the toddler somehow made her way back to a hotel pool after removing her life jacket. Family members discovered her in the water and immediately began CPR. According to her father, Johnston Camp, it took nearly an hour for his daughter’s heartbeat to return. She has remained hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital ever since.
The family’s anguish deepened just two days after admission when a physician recommended Annelise be declared brain-dead. Her father firmly pushed back, insisting that even a small chance of recovery was worth fighting for.
Texas Children’s Hospital maintained that its clinical team had exhausted all medically viable options and had formally requested transfer to 24 other facilities on the family’s behalf, all of which declined before Ochsner agreed.
The family had previously secured a temporary restraining order in Harris County, and a subsequent court agreement allowed brain death testing to proceed while supportive care continued pending a scheduled hearing.
Through every legal filing and courtroom battle, the Camp family has remained unwavering in their belief that Annelise deserves every possible opportunity to heal.
As Annelise prepares for transfer, her father’s words continue to resonate: “If you give her the best opportunity and she survives, she’s going to have a lifelong testimony.”
