It's Happening Again (We've Got Another Schiavo, Starving In GA, No Brain-Damage)

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

(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.

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.

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***

EVERYONE, but EVERYONE should listen to this and send it to your favorite media personality.

Even if you HAVE a will saying you DO NOT want to be starved, they kill you, particularly HOSPICE!!

Republic says: " followed the link to glennbeck.com and clicked on the tiny CD emblem by the hear KEN speak with Glenn in interview regarding his Aunt Mae.
MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have all of you heard this interview...............it not only blew Glenn out of the water and into the twilight zone....it surely must be sending everyone who hears it out into stratosphere of the surreal!

Just go LISTEN.

When you here what Gaddy did the MORNING Ken was at the hospice waiting to meet with the attorney.........your hair will stand on end.

There is something very evil going on with the Hopsice association...an attraction to death that seems to flood over the old, the NON TERMINALLY ILL but disabled and imo...that is called...EUTHANASIA"

****

Send it to your favorite talk show host, or ANY media outlet that you choose, if you please.

Nationwide local media contact database - one of the best all-purpose links.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media
For contact info for all media in a local area, enter your zipcode.
For contact info for all media in a state, click that state on the map.
For national media, check the "show national media" box.

When it returns your list of media outlets, you can click on the name to go to the website.

If you want to send email to any or all of them, click the box next to the name. Then, click "compose message". When the next screen comes up, enter the requested information, type in your message, and click "send message".

==>Added bonus: on the left hand side of the search page are links to the same kind of contact info for national, state and local officials; and state agencies.

Cranford gets around - here's a case in California - 1997.

The judge in this case. Bobby McNatt, is a friend of mine - over 30 years. A more intelligent, fair, and compassionate person I have never known. We could use him on the SCOTUS.

Excerpt from Calif paper:

In cases where other doctors don’t see it, Dr. Cranford seems to have a knack for finding PVS. Cranford also diagnosed Robert Wendland as PVS. He did so in spite of the fact that Wendland could pick up specifically colored pegs or blocks and hand them to a therapy assistant on request. He did so in spite of the fact that Wendland could operate and maneuver an ordinary wheelchair with his left hand and foot, and an electric wheelchair with a joystick, of the kind that many disabled persons (most famously Dr. Stephen Hawking) use. Dr. Cranford dismissed these abilities as meaningless.etc

See what Judge McNatt - now Presiding Judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court - had to say in his ruling on this site:

http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/robertsangels/WendlandToLive.html

and this from Robert's Legacy blog:

http://robertslegacy.blogspot.com/

"Then there’s Dr. Ronald Cranford, handpicked by Michael Schiavo to examine Terri and on whose say-so Terri was categorized in "persistent vegetative state". Cranford testifies in cases such as Terri’s around the country, always pumping the dehydration and starvation side. He was 1992’s featured speaker for the pro-euthanasia Hemlock Society, which was renamed The Choice in Dying Society. (WorldNetDaily).

Cranford nicknamed himself, "Dr. Humane Death".

A bioethicist, and a pioneer in euthanasia and right-to-die issues, Dr. Humane Death is a fully-fledged member of The Choice in Dying Society."

and on FOX news in 2001, (http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/robertsangels/BurdenOfProof.html#)

"Dr. Cranford, you are a neurologist, and you had the ability actually to look at Robert. Your opinion on this matter is that the feeding tube should be removed; is that correct?

DR. RONALD CRANFORD, NEUROLOGIST: Yes.

COSSACK: Why is that?

CRANFORD: Well, first of all, he's not in a coma, he's not vegetative, he is not unconscious, he is what we call minimally conscious. He does have some definite, but minimal, interaction with the environment. In that situation, he is so severely brain damaged that I think the one that is the most caring and most interested, which seems to be the wife and the children, should be allowed to make that decision....

(COSSACK:)Dr. Cranford, I want to ask you this, how would you respond to this criticism, that what this really represents, since Mr. Wendland really isn't in a complete coma, that the notion of pulling his feeding tube really represents a step by society of going in a direction where this kind of action, that is the death of a patient, is a form of treatment for economic and insurance reasons? And where do you stop between somebody who has Alzheimer's or someone who has dementia, who perhaps would be in the same kind of situation that Mr. Wendland would be in?

Dr. C.: CRANFORD: That is a legitimate questions because, prior to this. all the cases have been vegetative states. This is one of the first few cases of minimally conscious, or profoundly demented. So one of the legitimate questions in these case, where do you draw the line? There are thousands and thousands of patients with Alzheimer's who may be in the same condition.

Where do you draw the line? And there is no line. There was line with vegetative, but there is no line here.

On the other hand, I think that 90 percent of Americans would find a condition like Robert Wendland, where he may be aware to some degree, only minimally aware, absolutely horrifying and worse than being vegetative. On the one hand, you have what most of us would think; on the other hand, you have the genuine concerns of people about the slippery slope on where you draw the line, and that is why this case has such controversy because he's not vegetative, he is minimally conscious. Where do you draw the line on patients who are severely brain damage, where you want to stop treatment? Of course, one line to stop is if they are in a feeding tube, that means they are medically dependent; if you stop the feeding tube, he dies.

That's one line to be drawn right there.

SIESS answers: They should look at the statute itself, which is unconstitutional, and strike it down.

And I do need to make another point here. You know, they are describing Robert as minimally conscious. What the public needs to know is that there really is no such thing. That is a term that was made up by Dr. Cranford and some of his colleagues in order to move the line over where you can start killing people like Robert.<

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