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***
"Not bad enough to kill, but bad enough to argue over dishes they'll never use."
There's something about a death in the family that makes people go absolutely goofy. My experience is that's it's usually someone by marriage instigating the crap.
"You know your mom/dad would want you to have those dishes, you should raise hel*."
Remember that $100 you lent your brother 800 years ago? You should get his car. LOL
US congress? While we're at it, let's just abolish states' rights.
I agree with you. We should try everything in our power to save Mae.
I have also notified AARP. I'm hoping they'll get involved in this the way the disability groups got involved in Terri's fight.
Don't forget, this Judge for Mae in Alabama is NOT an Attorney!
And the others who pretend they don't see what the concern is are as well.
Who will take an action item to file a complaint of Senior Abuse? State is in Alabama.
I have witnessed some truly goofy stuff. And I can't blame it only on inlaws.... one was an aunt who comes from the ogre side of the family ;~D
But I had to feel for my step-dad when his first wife (before we knew him) died. After the memorial, relatives came back to the house and started trying to pack things up. They said... what are you going to do with the furniture? "Huh? he said? I'm going to sit on it! I'm still alive, and I still live here!" He had to shoo them out.
nic glad to see you over here.
Trying to find the fax 4 free postings here, I came upong this post. Sorry that it's a bit off topic:
Friday Fax Relay - UN Disabilities Negotiation/Right-to-Die
Ravings of John C. A. Bambenek ^ | 2-4-05 | C-FAM
Posted on 02/04/2005 11:45:12 AM EST by jbamb
FRIDAY FAX
February 4, 2005 Volume 8, Number 7
Controversy Surrounds UN Disabilities Negotiation
Today the United Nations closes the fifth in a series of two-week drafting sessions intended to produce an internationally binding convention on the rights and protection of people with disabilities. Despite mounting pressure to finalize the text, which the UN has been drafting since mid-2002, much controversial work remains. UN negotiators addressed only a fraction of the overall draft, and most of the language that pro-lifers find troublesome remains in the document.
Among the most controversial passages is an article that pro-life advocates believe grants a right to die. The text makes illegal all "medical or related interventions," possibly including life-saving nutrition and hydration, carried out without the "free and informed consent" of the person concerned or his legal representative. Interventions without prior consent may only be carried out if they are in the "best interests" of the person concerned.
A spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee addressed the drafting group to ask for the removal of this language, saying the language "would also prevent life saving interventions for persons attempting suicide." According to a statement issued by a pro-life coalition at the conference, the "best-interests" exception is also hazardous because it "allows a very subjective judgment to govern whether or not a person with disabilities should live, and would not protect the disabled person from assisted suicide or euthanasia."
Another point of contention is an article requiring that the disabled must have the "means necessary" to exercise their "reproductive rights." Among other states, Colombia objected to this language because UN enforcement committees define "reproductive rights" as synonymous with abortion.
On ongoing problem is definitional as it is not yet clear which groups will fall under the convention. There is no definition of "disability" and no groups are currently excluded from the convention. In contrast, the Americans with Disabilities Act specifically excludes "homosexuality and bisexuality" and "transvestitism, transsexualism, pedophilia." Despite its possible application to these groups, some countries, including New Zealand and the EU, strongly supported this language.
Several countries expressed concern that the convention should not create new rights that have not previously been agreed upon in internationally binding legal documents. The Holy See said that "our purpose here is not to create new rights, nor to diminish the existing rights of persons with disabilities, but rather to preserve the human rights of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others."
The UN is set to resume drafting the convention from August 8-19, 2005.
Copyright 2004 - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.
Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 427 New York, New York 10017 Phone: (212) 754-5948 Fax: (212) 754-9291 E-mail: c-fam@c-fam.org Website: www.c-fam.org
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1335957/posts
IT IS A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD!
SHEESHK!
PLUS, THE FAMILY WANTS THIS INFORMATION OUT!
What you think all court decisions are supposed to be private?
So if a judge continues to rule the wrong way- we never know and keep alecting him?
YOU REALLY DON'T GET IT! THIS IS A REPUBLIC!!! NOT AN OLIGARCHY!
THE JUDGE IS IN GA!!
IT IS ALL IN GA!
Mae's brother and sister and nephew live in ALABAMA.
"He had a conflict of interest"
Her dad had financial problems.
There was money received in the mal-practice suit for Terri's care.
Were he the guardian would there be a conflict of interest?
Very good. And make sure she also understands that it's obvious that having a Living Will is NOT going to ensure that her wishes are followed.
It has been suggested that people use the "Will to Live" instead. Isn't this ridiculous? You now have to have it in WRITING that you want to live. If you don't have it in writing, that's an excuse to kill you. If you have a living will that doesn't cover every single situaton, spelled out, they'll use any ambiguity to kill you. Of course, by necessity, it is ambiguous, as none of us can read minds and know what illness/disability will befall us in the future; we don't know how laws will be changed after we can no longer speak for ourselves and then have laws applied to us retroactively; we don't know if the "reasonable person" standard will be met by a judge whose reasonableness is unreasonable.....it's absurd.
The bloggers who exposed the forged memos and dug up dirt on John Kerry were:
1) Dealing with matters that had been thrust into the public arena by CBS (via its broadcast) and by George Bush and John Kerry when they chose to run for public office, thus legally giving up much of their right to privacy (if a court finds you to be a "public figure" which these men obviously are, a whole different set of rules apply, re slander, libel, use of image, etc.).
2) They were not getting information from a public official who was divulging private information that s/he had access to only as a result of the position. Some long-retired secretary of a long deceased military officer sharing her vague memories about matters involving someone who is now President of the United States by his own choice, is hardly comparable to a judge currently involved in a very private family dispute sharing "breaking news" on the matter with any stranger who calls up and asks for it. Most of the information on John Kerry was either from public records that were legally available, or from private citizens recalling events in their own past and choosing to make those recollections public.
Mae is physically in Georgia, her siblings are in Alabama. Shouldn't all phone calls and filings be to Georgia?
Everybody, can we please get focsed here on MAE?
Or would it be better if I started a new thread that was a thread dedicated to Action?
I didn't mind the scuttlebutt while waiting for validation. But I am now satisfied that Mae's story is true, and am hoping we can focus on her.
What does everybody think best, Start a new call to Action Thread, OR keep on this one but ask that the posts be directly realted to helping Mae and a decrease in "table talk" as my card playing friends would say. What is best? Time to vote.
City Contact Information:
Tom Hall, City Manager
Meg Kelsey, Assistant City Manager
City Hall - 3rd Floor
200 Ridley Avenue
Tel: 706.883.2000
Fax:706.883.2020
Lukken, Jeff - Mayor 706-883-2010
Dekmar, Lou - Chief of Police 706-883-2612
Edmondson, Rev Willie - City Councilman 706-882-7817
Gore, Dr Tom - City Councilman 706-884-2641
Hall, Tom - City Manager 706-883-2010
Moore, George - Mayor Pro Tem 706-884-5923
YES!!!
Hi, ExPat.....I think you've been corrected about the state in which this is happening....the elderly lady's in GEORGIA; the judge is in Georgia, but the "guardian" is in Alabama.
: )
KEEP
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