Posted on 11/19/2006 5:50:50 AM PST by Malacoda
CAMDEN, N.J. -- It's a choice no family wants to face. But one mother said Cooper University Hospital was trying to force them to turn off life-support machines that have kept her son alive.
Matthew Bollinger was walking on the side of the street to a friend's house Wednesday night when he was struck by a car.
"I think he deserves a chance, and I'm going to give it to him. I mean, they're going to try to do this without my permission. I'm his mother," said Karen Kennedy.
The family said they know Bollinger's injuries are serious and his chances of recovery are slim, but they want a miracle.
"Every night they told me he wasn't going to make it through the night," Kennedy said.
Her son made movements that a nurse first called spinal reflexes but then went and got doctors to see, too, according to Kennedy.
Camden police were brought into the room when doctors came in to turn off the life-support Saturday morning.
"He's a great kid. He's stubborn, hard-headed, but ... he's got tons of people who will testify that he'll do anything for you," Kennedy said.
Christine Messina-Boyer, a Cooper spokeswoman, put out a statement Saturday that read: "This is a tragic situation, and our hearts go out to the family of Matthew Bollinger. We will do everything possible to help his family through this very difficult time."
The hospital has asked everyone but Bollinger's mother and father to stay out of the room.
Meanwhile, the family was contacting a lawyer, prosecutors and police to see what else could be done.
One local news station indicated that they do have medical insurance, but that Cooper was anxious to yank the plug anyway...
N.J. keeps on electing Democrats who represent the Culture of Death!
That's strange. It's only been 4 days? They have processes they must go thru. Usually when I see this come up, it has involved patients on life support for months and the hospitals help the family find alternate long term care placement.
Brain death can be ascertained in 24 hours with two successive flat EEGs and other signs.
I don't know if this is the culture of death. Everyone dies.
Maybe a new culture of irrationality where people hire lawyers and call police when their son dies.
I'm wondering if they weren't disconnecting to see if he could breath on his own?
That's cold. Not often but I have seen miracles. When the family is ready, they will. They have choices though.
At some point life support is no longer ethical and you have to let somebody go. I don't know if this is one of those cases but thousands of times a year in this country people in pain with no chance of ever recovering are let go. I think it can be a very ethical descion to not force an 85 year old cancer patient to suffer through extreme treatment just to add a very short period to his life. Sometimes it is more humane to make sure his last days are as comfortable as possible.
not cold, just sad thing here. For the parents.
The fight to keep a loved one alive in so strong. Unless a person has been there, you just don't know what you would do.
I am going to length that I never thought possible, just to give our family a little more time together. The thought of giving up my beloved husband of 48 years is just too much to bear.
Michael Schavio will be along to support this mom, right?
That was the lead line in the article right? Or may be it was some where in there, right?
I have as much information that your EEG is flat as you do that this was the case with the boy.
Yeah, well, a hospital in Florida would have let my son die if didn't raise so much hell with them that they had the sheriff's department haul me away one night a few years ago. (he's fine, no thanks to them).
That's Florida, where Jeb Bush was governor; Florida, as in the Bible belt.
Every politician dances on the strings of the "healthcare" industry.
Sometimes I can hardly wait for judgment day.
Is the boy brain dead and have the words "organ donor" on his license? That could explain a lot.
What do people do when they have nobody to advocate their cause in a hospital?
we got a miracle. and fortunately, All Children's Hospital, a real hospital, was but a few miles away, and we transferred him there.
But the whole Mease chain is, as far as I'm concerned, the front porch of Hell.
Very sad. It's hard for families to let go. In this case the mom seems to be verbalizing that she understands the seriousness but she sees something. Sometimes they do.
Prayers.
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