Posted on 04/07/2005 2:59:57 AM PDT by schmelvin
For Immediate release! To: All media, and supporters of life. From: The Family of Mae Magouirk Date: April 6, 2005 Contact: Kenneth Mullinax - Mockingbird@compuhelp.net
Shiavo case revisited in Georgia
Mae Magouirk…not comatose …not vegetative …not terminal
Why is Hospice LaGrange, Ga. withholding nourishment?
(LaGrange, Georgia) Mae Magouirk is being withheld nourishment and fluids and the provisions of her Living Will are not being honored at the Hospice-LaGrange, (1510 Vernon Street, LaGrange “Troup County” Georgia, 706-845-3905) a subsidiary of the LaGrange Hospital in LaGrange Georgia. Her family is desperately seeking to save her life before she dies of malnourishment and dehydration.
Mae Magouirk IS NOT comatose and she IS NOT vegetative. She is not terminal!
Despite these facts the Hospice and Beth Gaddy, a school teacher at LaGrange’s Calloway Middle School and granddaughter of Mae Magouirk have been denying her proactive nourishment or fluids (via a nose administered feeding tube or fluids via an IV) since March 28 without prior legal consent; against the wishes of her Living Will and against the wishes of Mae Magouirk’s closest living next of kin. Mae Magouirk’s next of kin are: Mr. A. B. McLeod (Her Brother) and Mrs. Lonnie Ruth Mullinax (Her sister) both of nearby Anniston, Alabama.
Under Georgia law, unless a medical durable power of attorney is in place, your closest living next of kin are stipulated to make all medical decisions. When Mae Magouirk’s closest living next of kin lodged a complaint with Hospice LaGrange’s in-house attorney Carol Todd last Thursday, March 31, Ms. Todd checked Mae Magouirk’s case file and upon examination of both documents discovered that Beth Gaddy DID NOT have the durable medical power of attorney for Mae Magouirk and upon closer examination of Mae Magouirk’s Living Will ascertained that fluids and nourishment were ONLY TO BE WITHHELD if she was either comatose or vegetative. SHE IS IN NEITHER STATE!!!
Nor is Mae Magouirk terminally ill. Her local LaGrange, Ga. cardiologist, Dr. James Brennan and Dr. Raed Aqel, a highly acclaimed interventional cardiologist at the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center have determined that Mae Magouirk’s aortic dissection is contained and not presently life threatening.
Two weeks ago, Mae Magouirk’s aorta had a dissection and she was hospitalized in the LaGrange Hospital in LaGrange, Ga. Her aortic problem was at first determined to be severe and she was admitted in the intensive care Unit. Her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, a teacher at the Calloway Middle School in LaGrange, stated that she held Mae Magouirk’s medical power of attorney and thus invoked said powers against the wishes of Mae Magouirk’s closest living next of kin by having her moved to Hospice-LaGrange. While at Hospice-LaGrange, Beth Gaddy stated that her wishes were for no nourishment for Mae Magouirk via a feeding tube or fluids via an IV. Before hospitalization Mae was lucid and never had been diagnosed with dementia as was testified to in Probate Court on Monday, April 4, by a local MD.
Page Two Mae Magouirk is being starved to death!
Upon learning from Hospice-LaGrange that Mae Magouirk was being denied nourishment and fluids and upon being told by Carol Todd (Hospice LaGrange’s in-house legal consul) that Beth Gaddy DID NOT HAVE THE PROPER LEGAL AUTHORITY to deny said nourishment AND that the denial of nourishment went against Mae Magouirk’s Living Will, Mae’s family (Mullinax/McLeod) ordered the immediate beginning of such nourishment/fluids for Mae to Hospice via Carol Todd.
First Contact with Hospice on Thursday, March 31 Carol Todd told Mrs. Lonnie Ruth Mullinax (Mae Magouirk’s sister) and Kenneth Mullinax (Mae Magouirk’s nephew) via phone on Thursday, March 31 that Georgia Law stipulated that Mrs. Mullinax and her brother A. B. McLeod (Mae Magouirk’s brother) were entitled to make any and all decisions for Mae Magouirk. Mrs. Mullinax immediately told Carol Todd to insert fluids via an IV and insert a feeding tube, via her nose. Carol Todd had the IV fluids started that evening but told the family that they would have to come to Hospice LaGrange to sign papers to have the feeding tube inserted and because of such, she believed that Mae Magouirk would no longer be a candidate for Hospice LaGrange. She was then told that Mae Magouirk’s family concurred and the ONLY REASON Mae was at Hospice was because the LaGrange Hospital had failed to exercise due diligence in closely examining the power of attorney which Beth Gaddy said she had, as well as executing the provisions of Mae’s Living Will to her preordained stipulations. Gaddy only had a financial power of attorney and did not have a medical power of attorney and Mae Magouirk’s Living Will provided that a feeding tube and fluids SHOULD ONLY BE DISSCONTINUED IF Mae was comatose or in a vegetative state. She was and is in neither state.
Attempt to rescue Mae on Friday denied by Probate Judge Donald Boyd On Friday, April 1, when A. B. McLeod (brother) and Kenneth Mullinax (nephew) showed up to meet with Carol Todd and to arrange emergency air transport of Mae Magouirk to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center (One of the top cardiovascular centers in the USA) Hospice LaGrange stalled them while Beth Gaddy went before Troup County Georgia (LaGrange, Ga.) Probate Judge Donald W. Boyd (who DOES NOT hold a law degree) who granted Beth Gaddy emergency guardianship of Mae Magouirk, giving Beth Gaddy full and absolute authority. Thus, they COULD NOT MOVE HER FOR PROACTIVE MEDICAL CARE Friday because Beth Gaddy had Hospice stop them and then she had Mae’s IV fluid tube pulled out. Beth Gaddy has repeatedly told Mr. McLeod, Mrs. Mullinax and Kenneth Mullinax that she feels they all should let Mae not eat and thus cause her to die because, and we quote Beth Gaddy: “Grandmamma is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus. She has glaucoma, and now this heart problem and who would want to live with disabilities like these?”
As stipulated under Georgia Law, a hearing for an Emergency Guardianship, must be held within 3 days of its request and Mae Magouirk’s hearing was held on this past Monday, April 4, before Troup County Georgia Probate Judge Donald Boyd who favors granting Beth Gaddy permanent guardianship and thus will seal Mae Magouirk’s fate of allowing Beth Gaddy to starve her to death against the wishes of her Living Will and in full knowledge that Mae Magouirk is not terminal, not in a coma and is not in a vegetative state and that medical care at UAB Medical Center is awaiting her. Shiavo revisited!
Mae’s present state and vital signs Mae’s blood pressure is good, averaging 140/82 with a pulse rate of 88. However, since admission to Hospice she has not been lucid but who would be since nourishment and fluids have been denied since March 28, 2005. Also adding to her confusion is that she is off her regular medicines and is on a dose of Adavan and Morphine. Without food or water her electrolytes and body chemistry is not within its proper parameters. If her condition is not given major public attention soon, she will die, not by divine cause but by the omission of assistance by man. WE MUST GET Mae moved to UAB Medical ASAP
Resources: Probate Judge Donald Boyd…Court CASE NUMBER: Estate 138-05 Attorney for saving Mae’s life: Jack Kirby, Kirby & Roberts***
Exactly. By the time I was actively following these threads heels had been dug in...but I really didn't understand the background at the time.
Sounds like the hospice pretty much did do that.
The article says that the hospice did start an IV when the outraged siblings arrived. The next day, while her siblings were arranging with hospice for transport to a medical center, the probate judge granted the granddaughter emergency guardianship and the transport was not allowed.
I live her in GA
I have called the attorney, I have called the Hospice. The governor- the brother, etc..
I AM BEYOND TICKED!
NO HELP! NONE!
GOOD GRIEF!
I will CHANGE this if it is the LAST thing I DO!
Crying again!
Governor's office actually said "NOHTING WE CAN DO!"
SO TERRI'S CASE HAS TAUGHT US THIS???
Yes, it is EVIL.
One thing that has me so upset about this case is that my own grandmother died 20 years ago (while receiving the best medical treatment -- we did everything we could to save her, NOT kill her), and today I would give anything in this world to have my grandmother alive and well and here with me now.
How could someone do something like this? How can someone torture her own grandmother to death and still be able to look herself in the mirror? I just don't understand this at all.
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okay
JUST TALKED TO THE JUDGE!
Case WAS settled Monday--
ALL parties agreed on the following.
Three doctors were picked and approved by BOTH PARTIES!
If 2 of the 3 found that Miss Mae could be moved to Emory or Birmingham with a DECENT chance of surivival then this would happen- and that the grandaughter would remain as guardian.
The Doctors had a phone conference Monday night at about 6:00 pm.
What was decided- the judge does not know--
SO please do NOT bug the judge!
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Please ping Diva Betsy Ross or me if you wish to be part of this NOC (Nuclear Option Committee) for Judicial Activism to carry this fight forward.
>>>The recorded message confirmed the story, and asked that only media leave messages, to avoid overloading the machine. So I didn't leave a message.
Isn't a newsgroup considered a type of media? We are reporting to a large audience AND a lot of reporters report from OUR research.
I've called the DOD media a few times in reference to Pro Coalition stories I've posted. They understood I was a poster at FR and gave me a log in for a video site to access for stories here.
Based on that, I think we are a media.
Leave a message! You are reporting info!
I think you are wrong on the actual feelings of people who face this decision every day. There is an important distinction to be made between brain injury patients who are otherwise healthy in body, and those suffering from terminal disease. Many many people have had terminal parents and other relatives who, wasting from disease, are medicated for pain but never hooked to IV or tube feeding systems. My grandfather died of ALS, cared for by us in our home, with the assistance of hospice nurses. In his final days he was in and out of consciousness, and never had any kind of IV inserted.
My mother, on the other hand, died in hospital of stomach and liver cancer. She had IV hydration, and also received Morphine through that IV, but she had no nutrition other than liquids in her final days, her digestive systems were shutting down and it was not even discussed as an option to insert a feeding tube. Due to her level of Morphine given for pain, she was never conscious.
So in the simple answer, I'd say no, that is not the place to start. These treatment and care decisions are much more complicated than that. Removal of a tube in a person who is lingering because of it is an entirely different situation than the situation many face, where there is no tube inserted in the first place. Did they die sooner than they would have with a feeding tube? And would the extension of time in those circumstances have been a mercy or a cruelty? Is the length of survival the best measure of life?
The original intent of hospice was to aid the families of the terminally ill in taking care of their family members who wished to die at home. Sometimes these patients would be sent to rest homes when the burden was too great for the family and the hospice team would then work with the staff to insure adequate and appropriate care, and pain management in order to live out their last days in as much comfort and dignity as possible. Well I guess it has now evolved into institutional care, with the emphasis on death rather than end of life care.
I now see it has become big business, here in Napa. A multimillion dollar Hospice has been built that rivals the most expensive nursing care homes in the area.
I copied the news release and email it to a dozen FOXNews reporters. Tried CNN but I don't know if they got it. Sent it to local MSM's, too.
Exactly--
BUT! It is OUT OF THE JUDGES HANDS-- BY THE WILL OF THE FAMILY!!
NOW! If we could just find out what on earth is going on-- it would be VERY NICE!
Can't believe the attorney is NOT telling us what to do!
I have called 3 times- left 3 messages-- still no reply!
AAARG!
The 'quality of life' issue would not even have sunken into this level of conversation if we all could take a step back to what brought it to this level.
Go back to my looooong post about viaticals.
If there was no money to be made from transferring a life insurance policy...there would be no grey area to discuss on who should decide when someone should stop receiving treatment.
This discussion gets hot because everyone has had a level of experience with it. No one is comfortable with making these decisions for someone else. No one wants to entertain the thought as to whether they did the right thing.
We all can stay focused on where this whole system went wrong.
That is the viaticals. The transference of the life insurance policies.
If that is stopped. There would be no patient brokering.
:)
I was able to contact the same person via e-mail, and I don't want to take up his message space. In the e-mail, I explained my involvement with Free Republic, and the people here who are actively involved in preventing forced starvation and dehydration.
Bump!
:)
I personally have never seen so many "debaters" practicing medicine without a license. I never knew there were so many licensed radiologists posting here as they bandied about the brain scans and EEG's as proof of "PVS".
I hope they don't agree for the grandaughter to remain the guardian. One of the mistakes the Schindlers made was giving sole guardianship to MS
Thank you for all you are doing.
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