Jahi McMath: Brain-dead girl's mother breaks silence

[alp227]

Source: Oakland Tribune

OAKLAND -- More than six weeks after her brain-dead daughter was moved from Children's Hospital Oakland to an undisclosed location, the mother of Jahi McMath broke her silence in a letter released Wednesday on Twitter.

The 13-year-old Oakland girl was declared brain-dead Dec. 12 after when she developed complications following a Dec. 9 tonsil, nose and throat surgery for sleep apnea and went into cardiac arrest. The case drew international attention as the family battled with hospital officials for weeks and then went to court, seeking to keep the girl on a ventilator and to have breathing and feeding tubes surgically inserted.

Weeks of negotiations and courtroom battles between the family's attorney and hospital officials finally yielded a deal to move the girl from the hospital. On Jan. 5, she was taken to an undisclosed out-of-state facility, where her family said she had remained on a ventilator.

Once Jahi was moved on Jan. 5, her family went silent. The letter, released by Jahi's uncle, Omari Sealey, through his Twitter account, thanks those who supported the family through donations and prayer during their ordeal.

Read more: http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_25184606/jahi-mcmath-brain-dead-girls-mother-breaks-silence

[cosmicone]

1. When is the funeral?

They must have realized that she is dead by now.

Or are they and their attorney still dreaming of a multi-million dollar settlement?

[840high]

2. I don't know

what I would have have done in her situation. My heart goes out to them.

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. I know what I would do.....say goodbye to my daughter and STOP the insanity...

[Control-Z]

5. I can't say I would know either.

Though, my first husband was in a vegetative state for more than 3 years before he died. It was against my daughter's wishes (and his).

The simple fact that he had a feeding tube, and continued to breath on his own after being taken off the ventilator, sealed the deal. Even the doctors had said he would never recover. But that damn feeding tube. His case had to go before an ethics committee. They would not allow the tube to be removed because he would die of starvation. Had he not had the tube already they would have let him starve, however.

The whole thing would have been different, I think, with a child.

[AtheistCrusader]

4. With the 'Schiavo foundation' involved, I can see/understand the parents being

possibly bamboozled by those shitheads.

With your child's body warm, breathing, and still laying in front of you, it's probably not too hard to convince most people into believing their kid is still alive.

Con artists often pull off much bigger lies, with much less material to work with.

[NYC Liberal]

8. I don't put the blame on the parents. They are being exploited by greedy sharks looking for a payday

Those sharks have preyed on the very real grief of the parents.

[Feral Child]

13. "Pro-Lifer"?

[Feral Child]

17. Sorry for your loss.

Sincerely.

But you're still a "Pro-lifer", and that's inexcusable.

[Feral Child]

20. OK, have it your way.

I have no time or respect for pro-lifers, anyway.

[Feral Child]

23. Twist it any way you want

if it makes you feel better about yourself. You're truly deceiving yourself if you think I'm stung by your opinion.

That convoluted charge of somehow being an intolerant person because I have a firm belief and a positive political stance is just passive-aggressive rationalization.

Choice is a fundamental concept of a liberal/progressive platform. My personal belief is that all pro-lifers are self-righteous odious creatures, filled with hidden self-loathing, projecting it onto society. They're the definitive embodiment of Munchausen-by-proxy.

No, I have no respect for your views, not just because they differ from my own, but because I find your beliefs to be inhumane and uncivilized.

I attempted to leave this conversation once, but you (passive-aggressively) needed to have the last word and incited me again. Do you want to let this go, or what?

Since you want to make character judgments, assess that....

[Psephos]

22. And you are rude and heartless.

Which is inexcusable...especially on a prog board.

I'm pro-choice, but I respect others whose conscience has brought them to a different understanding.

[Feral Child]

24. Thank you

for your un-requested judgment.

There are many Republican values I disrespect, and that's one of them.

I don't respect pro-lifers, and I'm willing to bet that there are many here who do not.

Maybe your progressivism isn't as exclusive as you thought. Perhaps you should post a poll.

[bitchkitty]

27. Not unrequested.

You're on a public message board, or haven't you noticed? Everything said here invites comment.

[cosmicone]

10. I knew a science challenged comment was coming

Where do we draw the line as a society? What if every parent wants to keep their dead child on life support? At whose expense? The technology is there to keep pretty much every person except those who die of severe trauma can be kept on life support. Keeping someone on life support costs money -- like $5-15K a day. "They love their child" so much that they would spend that much on a dead body? Defies all logic except that in California, the non-economic damages are capped at $250K but economic damages are not.

It is simple logic to see that the family wants to pretend she is alive with a life expectancy of 10-15 years @$4 million a year and file a lawsuit for $40-60 million. Carting the dead body in the courtroom with tubes sticking out will have an impact on the jury but said dead body would be nothing more than a prop.

What about dignity for the dead person? Or are the parents selfish enough to keep the dead girl on life support so that they don't have to face a loss?

[NickB79]

28. Fuck it, go full-on cryonics while we're at it

Freeze her brain in liquid nitrogen and claim they'll fix it in a hundred years, clone-grow her a new body, and implant her brain back.

[Myrina]

18. Sadly, they have convinced themselves that she's "getting better" .....

... and blame the previous hospital for not caring for her correctly.


Saddens me that some folks go so willingly delusional as a way to avoid dealing with pain/grief/death.

[mackerel]

6. The ambiguity of the letter makes me

think that the family is still hoping for a miracle. Painfully sad situation.

[Lunabelle]

11. People are selfish and have no concept of what real life is.

I am a nurse and have seen grieving families wrap themselves so tightly in their grief that they don't understand that to keep someone "alive" who is brain dead is cruel and an inhumane way to treat the ones you love. G-tubes and ventilators are painful and lead to infections. Even with the best of care she will end up fighting numerous infections and decubitus ulcers. The human body was not meant to live like that and she will probably have a long and miserable "life" living in a bed with no hope. Families forget that patient and live with their own need of not being able to let go. Very sad for this family and especially the body of the poor child who for all intents and purposes is already dead.

[catbyte]

14. With her being brain dead, she feels no pain. That's a small consolation

[AngryOldDem]

12. Sounds like she's in major denial.

Which is extremely understandable.

I just hope she has the support she needs to get through this, and not be surrounded by jackals who will be more than willing to capitalize on her grief. As the Terri Schiavo case showed, there are plenty of people who will take advantage to press their own agendas.

[PumpkinAle]

26. The mom says

"Despite what people say about my daughter being dead and how I must be ignorant not to get that, I can tell you that she is much better physically "

How can that be possible?

From the same article:

Medical experts and ethicists have criticized the decision to keep Jahi on a ventilator, saying there is absolutely no chance of recovering from brain death.
Bioethics experts also took issue with news media coverage that often repeated family assertions that the girl was alive, saying it clouded an issue the public already has difficulty grasping.

"God can overcome all things and I believe that his will has yet to be fully revealed," Winkfield wrote. "I love Jahi and where there is love, there is hope."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-brain-dead-jahi-mcmath-mother-update-20140221,0,700069.story#ixzz2u253WzIM

I'm sorry for the family, but it is time to let Jahi rest in peace.