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***
http://www.blogsforterri.com/docs/MagouirkOrderApril1%5B1%5D.pdf <-- Link cited above too
http://www.wghs.org/graphics/campusmap.gif <-- Across the street
Hospice counsel said that if intubation was to be done, Mae would have to be discharged from hospice. I.e., medical availability is not literally at the hospice.
IIRC, Ken's first press release was 72 hours or so after the order. Given the timing required to lose health (i.e., the loss can occur in the course of hours or days), I don't think his sense of urgency was untoward. He believed that "the system" of doctors, lawyers and judges was moving too slowly and deliberately, and he chose to attempt to engage public sentiment.
I think Ken and his attorney made a tactical judgement call, that the best way to get Mae out of hospice included having doctor's testimony. Given that a LaGrange doctor had certified Mae as terminal, they may have felt that rocking the boat too hard would result in a failed mission.
In a purely idealistic form of adversarial proceeding, they would concede nothing.
The statements you listed are hearsay supposedly made by a woman with dementia ...
Emphasis on "supposedly." Who made the allegation of dementia? When was the allegation made?
"While looking at the court documents I noticed"
Did you notice she was in a Hospice and shouldn't be moved upon her doctors advice?
"Kenneth acted the best way he knew how to get public attention on his aunt being starved to death.."
The guy running the hosital/Hospice says otherwise. Who's correct?
Yeah, it goes with the territory here at FR. Fortunately the mods here don't try and stop debate until it turns so ugly it has completely left the realm of civil discourse. Occassionally, someone on the thread orders the so-called disruptors off the thread, but that speaks more to their own self confidence than to anything the alleged disruptor has raised.
Funny how the ASAP part got left out of all the accusations?
Good catch. It got left off, because several here had justified Ken's actions on Wednesday to the failure of the doctors to adhere to the order. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that those few words were overlooked.
Obviously, not all of the doctor's agree on that point. She was moved.
Wonder if Mae's house is being watched? Wonder if grandchildren might attempt to take any valuables she may have...
Good graphic.
There's one guy apparently responsible for both....should have said in the hospital complex but it wasn't clear in the literature I was reading.
Thanks :-)
She'd been at the Hospice since March 22 as I recall from the court papers? On the one had the her doctors said leave her at the Hospice, don't move her and on the other this urgent need to move her.
In the graphic there are heart specialist virutally across the street. Wonder why the need to go to Alabama?
The hospital in GA certified Mae as terminal. No need to treat her, in their professional opinion.
She'd been at the Hospice since March 22 as I recall from the court papers? On the one had the her doctors said leave her at the Hospice, don't move her and on the other this urgent need to move her.
The doctors disagree on the best course of action. Some doctors felt the best course of action was to not treat the disscetion, and certified her as terminal for admission to hospice. Other doctors held that Mae's best interest involved medical treatment that was not available at hospice.
Emphasis on "supposedly." Who made the allegation of dementia? When was the allegation made?
Both parties to the court pottition mention inability to make decisions. Didn't check if any doctors atested to such.
"Obviously, not all of the doctor's agree on that point."
And upon whose advice all parties agreed to listen to...well two of three. :-)
Inability to make one's own decisions is a prerequisite to granting guardianship.
The only party that asserted dementia was, IIRC, Beth Gaddy. Also, IIRC, the first time the assertion was made was in her petition to the court for guardianship.
I haven't read the medical opinions of the three doctors named in the April 4 order. For all we know, all three agreed that Mae's condition was treatable, i.e., not terminal.
Well, what do you say? How would you have handled it? I mean the whole thing, not just the internet part.
Judge Boyd found Mae's dementia to be a fact of the case. It's in his April 1, 2005 ruling.
Dr. Jones examined the proposed ward on April 1, 2005, and prepared and filed his Evaluator's Report with the court wherein he opined that the proposed ward was incapacitated by reason of mental disability and was in need of a guardian of person and property.Mental disability has causes other than dementia. Further, the court in it's April 4 order merely repeated a doctor's opinion.
The April 1 ruling and order were made solely on the basis of the facts as presented by Gaddy.
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