[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Thank goodness! Let her family decide.

[Benito Cereno]

She’s dead, Jim.

[goodwithagun]

If she’s truly dead as the hospital claims then this family needs serious counciling. Their desire to keep her on machines could stem from their guilt of putting her under the knife instead of feeding her healthy food and exercising with her.

[JPG]

From Wiki: Brain death is the irreversible end of brain activity (including involuntary activity necessary to sustain life) due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. It should not be confused with a persistent vegetative state. Patients classified as brain-dead can have their organs surgically removed for organ donation. Even after brain death, the working of the heart might continue at a slow pace, but there will be no respiratory effort. Brain death is used as a legal indicator of death in many jurisdictions, but it is defined inconsistently. Various parts of the brain may keep living when others die, and the term "brain death" has been used to refer to various combinations. For example, although a major medical dictionary says that "brain death" is synonymous with "cerebral death" (death of the cerebrum), the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) system defines brain death as including the brainstem. The distinctions can be important because, for example, in someone with a dead cerebrum but a living brainstem, the heartbeat and ventilation can continue unaided, whereas, in whole-brain death, only life support equipment would keep those functions going.

[Winstons Julia]

This is a tough one, isn’t it? No one wants to see a kid die... but if she is truly brain dead, then that’s it.

Is still find I’m torn because around 35 years ago my great aunt either fell and smacked her head... or had something happen in her brain causing her to fall.

In the hospital, the doctors said she was beyond hope and they wanted to stop life support. My great-uncle fought them for awhile, but eventually my grandmother went to be with her brother because they were going to turn the life-support off.

Well... the woman came out of her coma. She wound up being fine... no real problems from the event (she had been a bit dotty prior... she liked to Windex light switches after people touched them and her house was SPOTLESS)... but she ended up outliving my great-uncle.

So ... I can understand how a mom might feel that the daughter is responding and I can imagine this is a terrible call to have to make.

[cll]

This doctor was also brain dead at one point:

http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195

[RginTN]

The hospital pr person is doing a horrible job at showing compassion & caring I heard an interview on the radio of him so callous.