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I'm curious - is it Florida law that the oldest sibling is automatically the guardian? Why was your brother's approval necessary?

From what I can gather,my brother, being the eldest sibling, is "head of family", 'tho my mom is still alive. They never even asked about her. She's 90½ and lives with me. I guess it's another 'cover your a$$' thing --- get ALL family members to consent. Remember, the hospital thinks we are taking her home to die. They don't know we're bringing her to Shands. Also, they probably want to avoid a Terri Schiavo type of problem with conflicts within the family.

Another thing, the witnesses on Marilyn's "Advanced Health Care Directive" did not have to provide addresses. The hospital wants them now, so I'm going to try to track them down tomorrow.

Beach_Babe, hope all goes well. Just be careful with the Advanced Health Care Directive - if the hospital thinks the family has "signed off" on taking Marilyn home for hospice care, that may be a problem down the road if you want to get her liver problem treated at Shands. My suggestion is to be honest with the hospital and tell them you want her taken to a facility to have her liver treated, and you are not happy with the care she has received where she is now. You could add that you feel that by treating her abcess with multiple drugs instead of surgery, they made the liver problem worse...something they might be liable for if you hired an attorney. To avoid a malpractice suit, ask them to use their pull to transfer her to Shands, or to get a HepC specialist in to see her. Don't let them think you and the family are resigned to Marilyn dying at home. It might be better to tell them you really just want her out of there (where she is now) and planned to take her to Shands immediately after leaving.

After following the Schiavo case, my feeling is you and Marilyn have to be very careful, as anything you or Marilyn say can be used against Marilyn if her condition worsens. This is just my feeling, do what you think is right. Prayers for you, Claudia and Marilyn. Claudia is a true guardian angel. :)