Hey eeevil,
I just got done reading a PM that Sally sent me, (she sent the same message to you) and she said some things that I think are very important and that also got me thinking.
The real problem here is that Beth Gabby is Mae's legal guardian. I'm beginning to worry that because of Ken's occupation, he is thinking more like a politician than a lawyer. He's doing what he does best and fighting this the best way he knows how, but perhaps it's not the best way. I realize he's trying to drum up support and public outcry, but in retrospect, all the support and public outcry in the world did not help Terri. Like Sally said, It all boils down to one piece of paper, and whoever has that piece of paper controls Mae.
Right now Beth Gabby has that piece of paper, and she's obviously been spending the bulk of her time confering with her attorney. She's even managed to have guards stationed to keep the family from seeing Mae.
I really hope that while Ken has been out drumming up public support, that Mae's siblings have been taking on the legal aspect of this case. Because, that's what's most important. Beth Gaddy needs to be removed from her position as legal guardian ASAP!
I really think that seeing if this case can be taken to court in Alabama needs to be considered if Judge Boyd will not relinquish Gaddy's guardianship.
Why hasn't Judge Boyd removed Gaddy as guardian yet? It was only a temporary guardianship, so why hasn't permanent guardianship been addressed yet? Why haven't there been any changes? Is the family hoping that Ken's crusade will fix the problem? Or is this situation hanging in limbo for some other reason?
If I may Schmelvin,
one of the biggest problems with the the siblings obtaining permanent guardianship will be thier respective ages. Did you not post that the sisters both have the same problem?
That could be why the judge is hesitant to make them permenant guardians.
Leaving Gabby guardian might not be a bad idea if all medical decisions have to be supported by one other family member either orally or written. The judge can dictate who the other family member should be. And the hospital would be legally bound to update that person evryday as well as give them access to the medical records.
You could also have this case kicked up to district court on a diversity of citezinship/question of law case.
If Alabama's kinship laws are different than Georgia's it would be easy. Especially if her estate is worth more than $75,000.
The last thing I want to do is be a "downer", but here's another thing that concerns me.
One reason the Schindlers lost is because they allowed Michael to have guardianship right away and didn't really start fighting him for it until things became too entrenched to be easily changed.
I'm seeing similar mistakes being made here. The family allowed Gaddy to retain legal guardianship on April 4th but only if some contingencies were adhered to. And, I think that now the family feels that Mae is safe, because she's been relocated to UAB. But, the fact that Gaddy is still exercising every bit of power she has, even to the point of barring the family from seeing Mae, has me worried. Gaddy is actively and aggressively controlling this situation. If she can find any legal loophole at all that will land Mae back in a hospice, I don't doubt for a moment that she will use it (and I also don't doubt for a moment that she's got her attorney looking to do just that).
The family needs to stop being nice and play hardball, because that is exactly what Gaddy is doing. They need to get just as aggressive as she is and rip that legal guardianship right out of her grubby little fingers. Mae is not safe until they do. Please tell me that they are fighting the legal battle just as hard as Ken is fighting the PR battle. Because if Ken loses the legal battle, it won't matter if he wins the PR battle.