Posted on 01/02/2014 1:08:18 PM PST by Anton.Rutter
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A California hospital is unwilling to allow an outside doctor to fit a 13-year-old declared brain dead after tonsil surgery with the breathing and feeding tubes that would allow her to be safely transferred to another facility, its lawyer said Tuesday.
Children's Hospital Oakland will not permit the procedures to be performed on its premises because Jahi McMath is legally dead in the view of doctors who have examined her, lawyer Douglas Straus wrote in a letter to the girl's family.
"Performing medical procedures on the body of a deceased human being is simply not something Children's Hospital can do or ask its staff to assist in doing," he said.
The refusal appeared to reverse the position articulated Monday by a hospital spokesman. He said the hospital would allow a doctor retained by the family to insert a feeding tube and to replace the oral ventilator keeping Jahi's heart beating with a tracheal tube — surgical procedures that would stabilize Jahi if she is moved to a facility willing to keep caring for her.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
And then there is true, unadulterated arrogance.
I have taken on entire staffs and systems in the defense of my patients. Please understand that many of us sharing an objective and scientific perspective have been needlessly attacked. Finnegan called me a liar and dishonest, and another arrogant. I am sorry that I choose not to refute these attacks. It is utterly impossible for you to know my practice patterns or the lengths that I have gone to for my patients. I have found, however, that most people want to know the truth especially when dealing with sick family members. I deliver that compassionately to those who I care for professionally. I have a wall of awards testifying to this, and more importantly my most cherished professional accolades — the letters from countless patients and families. But you would not know about that. I am sneering at the willful misrepresentation of some others on this thread.
I read every single one of your posts and wanted to thank you for the sane, rational, well-written information you provided in this heartbreaking case. I learned more from you, despite the detractors on this thread, than from the media or any other source.
You shed incredible light on this situation and I feel I understand it much more clearly now after reading your comments.
Kudos and thanks.
Wow... just as my cousin was after cracking his skull in an accident 32 years ago. Doctors at Scripps were not as quick to “pull the plug” back then... he came through it. He had health problems as a result, but lived a pretty good life. He passed away on Labor Day last year... too young at 52. Glad we did not have the death mongers back then that we have now... another positive is that organ donation was not such a lucrative business then as now.
So you trust a make believe doctor on the internet in helping you to understand? Amazing!
Those here who are concerned about hospital admin and govt deciding these issues instead of family do have a personal interest.... it CAN and WILL affect them someday. Those with the interest in siding with other than the family making decisions... I have to wonder why. Even in the mid 1990's the immediate family made these decisions. Tell me what is the legal authority of the hospital to make this decision? We have gone from Doctors who use to "do no harm" to doctors who look the other way and do nothing.
So glad you could come to the conclusion that the parents should pull the plug on their child How kind of you. How about letting them make that decision with consultation from those they trust?
It is all about organ transplants. Personal experience.... sorry.. pisses me off. I am not a donor and my daughter is not as well.
Yes... agree.
Not sure this is a doctor... just a prevaricator.
You pretty much nailed it....
His use of “corpse” is the new terminology in ObieCare.
What I find deeply disturbing is the phrase, “This family wanted a quick fix.” The family made their decision on the advice of two doctors. Many people have carpal tunnel surgery on the basis of what a doctor says, when all it takes to fix it is two chiropractic adjustments - one in the wrist, and another in vertebra #2. Taking a doctor’s advice is not always the best course of action, but how many laymen are aware of that fact?
Don’t be ridiculous. You are ascribing motivations to the family that you have no way of knowing.
Because it was a quick fix. Thanks to the Internet we are capable of knowledge experiences never before possible. I thought my son (who is actually quite skinny) might have had sleep apnea. He snores so badly at night. What did I do? Internet research. As it turns out this surgery is the first protocol, and if the surgery doesn’t work then a CPAP mask is introduced. That appalls me. Anesthitizing a small body and then carving out body parts is the first protocol? Unlike this poor child’s parents I did my research. It is unfortunate that they did not. They could have pressed her docs for the CPAP mask, or they could have attempted alternative therapies (of which I’m a big fan). However, in this case it was simply that the poor child was obese. God forbid the adults that made her that way alter their lifestyles to help this girl.
I don’t know that gas_dr is a fraud. He was able (and willing) to answer my question about heart function in a way that makes sense sense to me. If you have information that contradicts his answer, please share it. I’m not here to push an agenda. I’m here to get answers.
As I see it, the issue is whether Jahi is dead or alive. If she is alive, she should receive the care she needs. If she is dead, her corpse should be respectfully laid to rest.
All the arguments over who has the right to pull the plug and cause her death, or keep her corpse hooked up to life support are beside the point, not to mention ridiculous.
I agree that surgery should not always be the first line of treatment if there are other viable treatment options that can be used first. But in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, an enlarged uvula rather than obesity or obesity alone, are often the cause.
While Jahi was obese and obesity certainly causes and contributes to sleep apnea in many but not all cases, sleep apnea can also cause weight gain and make it more difficult to lose weight. We don’t know if or what efforts had been undertaken by her mother and her doctor to change her diet, put her on some sort of exercise plan and help her lose weight prior to going with the surgical option.
Sleep apnea can also cause other issues such as nighttime bedwetting, loss of concentration and increased irritability – all of which I read Jahi had. Sleep apnea can also cause high blood pressure and heart and lung problems and contribute to the development of diabetes if left untreated. We do not know if she had HBP or diabetes other health issues other than just the sleep apnea.
http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/Could-Child-Have-Sleep-Apnea.cfm
I understand that Jahi also had sinus issues, a deviated septum, enlarged tubinates (excess sinus tissues), a deviated septum is something I also have but haven’t had surgery for yet, but probably should as I also have symptoms of sleep apnea – and yes I’m a “mouth breather” which has also caused gum problems. I also understand that having deviated septum can make it more difficult to use a CPAP and that children and adolescents often have trouble adjusting to the machine as do a good number of adults (I know of at least two people, adults who despite trying for many months and following all instructions, just couldn’t adapt to wearing them). That and as children and adolescents are still growing, they would require frequent refitting of and replacement of CPAP masks. A CPAP is not a cure for the problem, it only ameliorates the symptoms.
This is not a decision point, the fact is that this child is medically and clinically dead. That is the beginning and end of the conversation. This is not a hospital administrator decision this is not a government decision. This is a clinical observation. The hospital is not making this decision. The hospital is operating within the law based on the independent judgment of physicians.
If you wish to quote the hippocratic oath, at least read it and get it all correct and do not generalize. I have not even ever commented on the effect these cases have on the physician staff, however, you likely do not even understand the depth of that conversation.
Thank you for all of your posts, I have read them all and learned a lot about
this case. It is so tragic. We cannot judge either the hospital or the parents. Who can fault them if they are hanging onto hope and no longer trust the hospital she is at? Maybe if the transfer occurs and they receive the same evaluation at another hospital then they will accept it. We should not jump to so many conclusions without enough information.
Would you feel better if I had said “My opinion is.... Jahi’s soul has passed. It will never return. She is in God’s care now. It’s time to let her body pass as well..”
It is an opinion not an edict.
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