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***
I guess changing your mind about whether you want to live or die is AGAINST THE LAW, now.
I guess when you are starved to death it is not all roses like felos the vampire promises us it is...I guess ya DO GET HUNGRY, not to mention THRISTY!
This grandchild is another perverted monster.
In America...we FEED THE HUNGRY! Or, we used to.
See this URL Letter from NHPCO re Conference on Aging for this letter, dated March 10th.
The White House Conference on Aging occurs once a decade to make aging policy
recommendations to the President and Congress, and to assist the public and private sectors in
promoting dignity, health, independence and economic security of current and future generations of
older persons.
The theme for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, October 23-26, 2005 in Washington,
D.C. is “The Booming Dynamics of Aging: From Awareness to Action,” which reflects the unique
mandate of the 2005 WHCoA to focus on the aging of today and tomorrow. This group includes the
78 million baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), who will begin to turn 60 in 2006. The
theme highlights the changing face of aging in the United States encouraging Americans of all ages
to participate in developing plans for aging generations now and in the future.
Both NHPCO’s upcoming Policy Forum and the free Caring Connections pre-conference seminar at
the Clinical Team Conference are official WHCoA events and as such, the findings will be shared
with a much broader audience and have a greater impact on future policy considerations for our
aging population.
Beyond official events, 1200 individuals will serve as delegates to the 2005 Conference. Delegates
to the Conference will have the responsibility for presenting recommendations to the President and
Congress to help guide aging policies for the next decade and beyond. The delegates will represent:
• Governors of all 50 states, the U.S. Territories, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the
District of Columbia (2 per Governor plus another 100 “at large” apportioned by state size)
• National Congress of American Indians
• Members of the 109th Congress (1 per Senator and 1 per Representative)
• National aging and other allied organizations, academic institutions, business and industry, nonprofit
and veterans’ organizations and other entities with a stake in the aging of America.
Applications for these slots will be sent out later this year.
A conference just ended in Germany on palliative care had as its theme "Beyond the Border" See for yourselves: http://www.eapcnet.org/Aachen2005/in/index.html
There are all kinds of things going on. Look up the articles just published in the NEJM. Also see the NIH goings on last December. http://consensus.nih.gov/ta/024/endoflifeintro.html#sponsors The last paragraph is a winner:
"Experience in Conducting Research Among People Toward the End of Life
Palliative care is a difficult field for research as much of this state-of-the-science conference will demonstrate. There are design, methodological, and ethical difficulties of conducting research, problems in recruiting and sustaining a research community, and a shortage of experienced academics in the field. This occurs at a time when there are greater than ever opportunities for international communication and coordination with technologies that sometimes make it easier to link between London and Washington than between Washington and Texas. For this reason, multicenter and international research should be considered and the NIH could play a pivotal role in encouraging such collaboration."
Hospice stats and research: http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3274&openpage=3274
2005 is the year for activism.
And is pro-rights...or "was"
The letter is posted at http://www.nhho.org/ under "Letter from the NHPCO......." toward the bottom. It is a .pdf file. You can't find it on the nhpco site yet.
LOL!!
Thank YOU!!
Kenneth emailred me the story-- but I didn't have a link!!
THANKS!!
YOU ARE AWESOME!
If you’d like to be added or deleted from this Ping List please freepmail me.
It's me again. :-) In Post 1264 lil'bit has posted the article from Joel Martin in the LaGrange paper.
Link to the original in the LaGrange paper is http://www.lagrangenews.com/new.php?StoryType=full
Great job there DJ!
"why would she need to do that?".....quite possible because grandma has too much to ask the state Medicaid to pay for grandma and she sees her inheritance going down the drai.
Possibly not, but I have actually seen it happen. If the granddaughter has had to care for grandma for 10 years, she should already have had grandma sign over property to her. The granddaughter does deserve something for her 10 years care.
I have seen a local case here where some of the grandchildren
promised grandma she would never have to go to the nursing home if she would sign over her considerale property to them. Grandma did, to the exclusion of out of state child and grandchildren. The ink was not dry before they carted her off to the nursing home.
It was pitiful because she had mind enough to know what had happened.
vaudine
It is no coincidence that the left seems to value animals more than people. When I call the death merchants nazis, I'm not invoking Godwins Law, I'm stating a FACT that I believe in my heart to be true. They Are Little nazis, and they will turn the lights off in Amerika if they are allowed.
Thanks for your post. Interesting....all the upper echelon of society will be in attendance, at least by proxy.
The moral of the storty: DO NOT SIGN A LIVING WILL cuz ya just might change your mind when hungry.
They also very much believe that health care should be rationed. If the laws do not allow it, they will find ways around the laws. They should be the ones to practice what they preach.
Apparently we should make our living wills out stating that we want every and all available heroic and non-heroic means to prolong our lives. Yes, I want to live like that. If only to say "Screw You" to the deathrats.
Please forgive me if you have addressed me and I have not responded!
I am just trying to do a lot at once....
You all have worked so hard and done so much!
Please forgive me too for when I was a REAL JERK earlier!
I have no excuse!
NONE!
Thank you!
I just talked to Kenneth--
I received word that Rita wanted his info to talk to him-- got her the info- but then she backed off!
PLEASE FLOOD RITA COSBY!!!
PLEASE!!!
Please see President's Bioethics Commission Meeting Transcript of June 24, 2004, wherein a Dr. Janet D. Rowley, M.D., D.Sc., from The University of Chicago, states, at this url,
http://www.bioethics.gov/transcripts/june04/june24full.html
"I'm very concerned that the major ethical issue that
we face in this country is that every dollar that is
spent on very old individuals is a dollar that could
be spent on young children who really are going to
benefit. And in a society of finite resources I think
it is unethical for older individuals to steal
resources from their children. And I think that that's
not the way the question is put, but in fact that is
in its bluntest terms of the way society should begin
to consider this. So you raise the question of
rationing. And I know that other countries do do this,
but I would be curious as to your thought, and your
thoughts also, Dr. Cole, on these issues?"
Please note, additionally, that individuals such as
Charles Krauthammer, M.D., the Syndicated Columnist
[and a FOX News contributer], is also currently on the
President's bioethics panel.
[Don't you love the line, "Well, since I wouldn't want to live that way, how could anyone else?]
Ask them this, "If you do not want to live in the state she's in, can we assume that you also want to DIE THE WAY SHE DIED?"
How many of the "let her die" crowd has signed a directive to make sure that they dehydrate to death? A show of hands? I'm waiting...
Dammit, if someone is fortunate enough, and dogged enough, and willing to go through the pain and difficulty required to become old, they deserve better than to have it stolen by some bastard who undoubtedly thinks he has it fixed so he can beat the judgement when the time comes.
I don't know what the solution to medical costs is but it isn't this. Why not look at medicare and medicaid fraud? And then there is the everpresent illegal alien problem. We're killing our parents and grandparents for the sake of a frickin' litter of illegals.
Even nice pro-life guys, like Hannity, recommend signing a living will, but they don't understand the ramifications YET.
I have read that when you go to the lawyers or talk to hospice, etc., they try to trick you into signing anything that will kill you, because you don't "want to live like that." What if you change your mind?
Christopher Reeves wanted to live, and he WAS on machines.
Father Pavone doesn't think it's such a good idea to sign a "living" will, because he realizes what's going on.
There is a good will that the National RTL Committee puts out, which can be downloaded, and if I do sign a living will, that's the only one I would sign.
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