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***
any update on Mae from Atlanta yet?
I haven't talked to Kenneth today..
I figured he deserved a day off from us-- but I promise to call him tomorrow-- In fact- I will just shoot him an email and ask him to call me...
I just don't want to hound him...
looks like they've got all bases covered - can "off" anyone anytime
We now live in a state that tasted blood ant it will kill again.
The proper self-defense is civil disobedience. On an individual level, the best one can do is NOT a living will but an appointment of a legal guardian (or guardians) authorized to make the decisions beased on the specifics of the medical case on your behalf.
Also, ask you doctor is he is pro-life and if he is not, fire the bastard Every dollar you pay to so-called doctors who would not honor the Hippocratci Oath is a dollar you pay to hangmen.
Thanks ;p)
Take for example the posts on this one thread about how hospice helped them. I have to say I am one of those they helped in the past, but my father died at home with hospice only comming in the last couple of weeks, not in a death factory.
Fighting them, the death crowd, not specifically hospice, will be difficult. It won't be like fighting a single person or organization. It will be a fight against a philosophy.
Education is the best tool. Knowing what they think and what direction and how far they're willing to go "right now".
They are at a turning point at this time. As I see it they have 2 options. One is to go back underground like they have in the past and reform/regroup and make soft hits to regain ground or to bring a campaign against life that would shock a lot of people. I think the former, and after the masses have "realized" these are just isolated cases.
I'm not saying this isn't do-able, just that preperation & studying them are necessary. Before a football team plays the opposition, the watch them play, find their strengths and weaknesses and then goes out and wins the game. You don't walk into a fight carrying a ruler while your opposition has a 2 x 4.
I know a lot of people have been fighting a long time for Terri and now Mae and countless others that have fallen between the cracks, but I think the Stakes have now been raised.
My sister does geneology. She showed us a family tree going back to Germany in the 1600's.
My grandson was born last Thursday. As I held him this weekend, I thought about all of our ancestors.... Then I got home and read your post and just had to agree that geneology is fascinating.
Terri's tribute
My golden aura blazes bright
The inky sky tells me its night
My eyes won't blink My body betrays
The youthful grace of yesterdays
Gracious Lord from whom life comes
I ask you now your will be done
Take my soul and bring it home
I lie here still and all alone
Grant me mercy lift my strife
So I might start eternal life
I have known these many years
It was you who calmed all my fears
Take away my parents pain
So they might learn to live again
If I could speak I want to live
For those who take my life "I forgive"
The aura dims My soul takes flight
I greet my Lord this Starlit night!
Susanne Maloney Robertson
Author of "The Throw away child"
Amen to all of your post -
We raise the stakes by keeping the light turned on this - as more people hear about these cases, more people are coming forward - people who have it happen to them too...but had no idea it is a systematic, demonic practice, well entrenched.
this issue now has the publics attention. We have to not let it wain - >talk about it, email about it, investigate, start interviewing pastors, ministers, priests - they deal with the elderly and hospitals, hospices. they might be an excellent source of information. There may be many of them who are shocked at what they see but not realize the scope of it.
Indeed as I write this, I realize that the church leaders might be a perfect conduit of case histories for us. They are in every town, they are visiting their sick parishioners - They could the ones to give us a network across the country to compile case histories - and when we get the goods on any hospice, we can start the blitz - starting with the home newspapers...
Be ready to roll...
Congratulations!
Now would be a perfect time to start a family history...c child who grows up knowing 'who he is" has strong roots - "grounded" - and knowing they are loved and safe...
*pay no attention to the colors. :) I'm practicing my html.
It was easy and thanks for the directions. It is a very good thing that he put in there that he thought Terri was an isolated case, then the next week, it's right there, staring him in the face. I really thought that was effective.
There is NO DOUBT the palliative care profession has been infiltrated by Euthanasia enthusiasts as was obvious during the many interviews of these people during Terri's final hours.
I have a suspision that what these folks are meaning is that their ‘quality of life’ is being affected .
It is wise for us to give thought to end-of-life questions now, before we, too, are tempted to fall for evil disguised as compassion.
Dignity comes only when the medical profession, families and loved ones practice the art of comforting the sick and dying. Death with dignity isn't killing the patient. Death with dignity is caring for the patient, supplying whatever is needed - drugs, oxygen, fluids, nutrients, and personal contact - in order to make death an easier death.
But... what about food and water? Is medically assisted nutrition and hydration a form of "treatment" or "care"?
Although frequently debated among ethicists, this question is irrelevant for the Christian. We are commanded by Christ to treat the sick (Matthew 10:1,8) and to provide loving care in the form of food and water (Matthew 10:42; 25:35). Even when the sick are incurable they are never untreatable or unable to accept loving care. Regardless of whether we call nutrition and hydration "treatment" or "care," these must be provided to the sick.
Some helpless patients are tube fed, not because they can't swallow food, but simply because tube feeding is cheaper and easier for the health care-giver.
First of all, no human being created in the image of God should ever be called "vegetative."
Medication may be given to prevent great pain, but the patient dies of starvation or dehydration, not the disease. Those who advocate the "right to die" know how cruel withdrawal of food and water can be. They also know how difficult it is for loved ones to watch such suffering. Therefore, if "right to die" advocates can convince enough people that lethal injections are a painless and quick alternative to death by starvation and dehydration, then legalized euthanasia will naturally follow.
In some cases nutrition and hydration are withdrawn not because the patient is dying, /fontcolor=navy blue> but because the patient isn't dying fast enough. P> In a survey of nursing home residents, 80% said they would want life support if necessary. However, only 30% of their families thought their loved ones would want life support. Families need to talk! Families must communicate! This will also help eliminate anger and disharmony between family members.
We can influence our own congregations and communities by providing Bible studies on end-of life issues.
We can raise awareness by providing credible information on the growing practice of euthanasia.
We can help one another become care-givers as we bear one another's burdens.
EXCELLENT FIND!!! Thanks for posting it
I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the comments I've seen some FReepers make questioning Ken's motives.
They think he did this to make fools out of pro-life conservatives. But, the first place Ken went for help was the Terri Schiavo people. Why would he want to make fools out of them? How could it possibly benefit his political career to make a mockery out of them, when the Vatican, millions of Americans, and countless numbers of people all around the world sympathize with them?
Have some of us become as viciously partisan as the leftists? Do some FReepers really believe that we should play the same hateful little games? Should we require people to show us their Bush Cheney bumper stickers before we agree to show any mercy to their dying family members?
My beliefs dictate my politics; my politics do NOT dictate my beliefs. Our principles should determine our politics, not the other way around -- That's what it means to be a conservative. That's what differentiates us from the leftists. Otherwise, we'd be no better than them; we'd just be the opposite side of the same coin. I realize that you understand this, but I worry that there are some of us who do not.
"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.< "
FYI
The minimally conscious state
Definition and diagnostic criteria
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/58/3/349
"In 2002, a panel of experts established a new diagnosis on the basis of exactly these reactions: the minimally conscious state. "It took years to get some agreement on the definition, and it's only now getting some acceptance," said Dr. Nancy Childs, at Texas NeuroRehab Center in Austin, "but we've known for years that there was this other group."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/health/05coma.html?position=&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1112818573-ACkXzPB1KwKvIgU7m3dM1g
Cranford responds to an article in NRO
http://pekinprattles.blogspot.com/2005/03/schiavo-dr-cranford-offers-reply.html
Dr. Cranford's Complete Terri Schiavo Report
http://pekinprattles.blogspot.com/2005/03/dr-cranfords-complete-terri-schiavo.html
http://www.med.cornell.edu/news/press/2003/03_31_03.html
"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."
This is a myth....see
http://pekinprattles.blogspot.com/2005/03/schiavo-dr-cranford-offers-reply.html
But one thing Cranford DID DO to demonstrate his belief that the infirm and mentally imperfect deserve to be starved and dehydrated is to be found IN HIS OWN WORDS, in a op-ed piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1997.
In this op-ed piece this POS doctor stated that " ALZHEIMERS patients in the later stages of their disease HAVE NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
Period."
THen this B(ag)OS doctor, in the same article, stated that " PVS patients ALSO have NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS! "
One wonders what this creepy dr cranford would have to say about a person COMATOSE from a car accident, or a woman like Mae!!!
Dr Cranford sealed Terri's fate...helped michael the BEAST, Mr. 666 himself along with this effeminite sidekick, Mr. Hemlock, himself, george felos, the lost, KILL TERRI. Murder Terri. CRUSH TERRI. Devastate Terri's family.
Terri was illegally in a hospice where she survived FOR ALMOST FIVE YEARS.
Nuff said.
These people are DIRT.
"In this op-ed piece this POS doctor stated that " ALZHEIMERS patients in the later stages of their disease HAVE NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS."
"THen this B(ag)OS doctor, in the same article, stated that " PVS patients ALSO have NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS! "
Here's the piece. I don't see those words stated anywhere. Perhaps this isn't the same editorial. Do you have a link to where he says that?
http://www.startribune.com/stories/779/23033.html
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