Granddaughter yanks grandma's feeding tube

In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo in Florida, an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of starvation and dehydration.

Mae Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose nor in a "vegetative state," when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient about two weeks ago upon the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, 36, an elementary school teacher.Also upon Gaddy's request and without prior legal authority, since March 28 Hospice-LaGrange has denied Magouirk normal nourishment or fluids via a feeding tube through her nose or fluids via an IV. She has been kept sedated with morphine and ativan, a powerful tranquillizer.

Her nephew, Ken Mullinax, told WorldNetDaily that although Magouirk is given morphine and ativan, she has not received any medication to keep her eyes lubricated during her forced dehydration.

"They haven't given her anything like that for two weeks," said Mullinax. "She can't produce tears."

The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk's specific wishes, which she set down in a "living will," and without agreement of her closest living next-of-kin, two siblings and a nephew: A. Byron McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ga.; Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, Ala.; and Ruth Mullinax's son, Ken Mullinax.

In her living will, Magouirk stated that fluids and nourishment were to be withheld only if she were either comatose or "vegetative," and she is neither. Nor is she terminally ill, which is generally a requirement for admission to a hospice.

Magouirk lives alone in LaGrange, though because of glaucoma she relied on her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, to bring her food and do errands.

Two weeks ago, Magouirk's aorta had a dissection, and she was hospitalized in the local LaGrange Hospital. Her aortic problem was determined to be severe, and she was admitted to the intensive care unit. At the time of her admission she was lucid and had never been diagnosed with dementia.

Claiming that she held Magouirk's power of attorney, Gaddy had her transferred to Hospice-LaGrange, a 16-bed unit owned by the same family that owns the hospital. Once at the hospice, Gaddy stated that she did not want her grandmother fed or given water.

"Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus," Gaddy told Magouirk's brother and nephew, McLeod and Ken Mullinax. "She has glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with disabilities like these?"

According to Mullinax, his aunt's local cardiologist in LaGrange, Dr. James Brennan, and Dr. Raed Agel, a highly acclaimed cardiologist at the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, determined that her aortic dissection is contained and not life-threatening at the moment.

Mullinax also states that Gaddy did not hold power of attorney, a fact he learned from the hospice's in-house legal counsel, Carol Todd.

On March 31, Todd told Ruth and Ken Mullinax during a phone conversation Georgia law stipulated that Ruth Mullinax and her brother, A.B. McLeod, were entitled to make any and all decisions for Magouirk. Ruth Mullinax immediately told Todd to begin administering food and fluids through an IV and a nasal feeding tube.

Todd had the IV fluids started that evening, but informed the family that they would have to come to the hospice to sign papers to have the feeding tube inserted. Once that was done, Magouirk would not be able to stay at the hospice.

Ken Mullinax recalled that Todd said the only reason Magouirk was in the hospice in the first place was that the LaGrange Hospital had failed to exercise due diligence in closely examining the power of attorney Beth Gaddy said she had, as well as exercising the provisions of Magouirk's living will.

Todd explained that Gaddy had only a financial power of attorney, not a medical power of attorney, and Magouirk's living will carefully provided that a feeding tube and fluids should only be discontinued if she was comatose or in a "vegetative state" – and she was neither.

Gaddy, however, was not dissuaded. When Ken Mullinax and McLeod showed up at the hospice the following day, April 1, to meet with Todd and arrange emergency air transport for Magouirk's transfer to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, Hospice-LaGrange stalled them while Gaddy went before Troup County, Ga., Probate Court Judge Donald W. Boyd and obtained an emergency guardianship over her grandmother.

Under the terms of his ruling, Gaddy was granted full and absolute authority over Magouirk, at least for the weekend. She took advantage of her judge-granted power by ordering her grandmother's feeding tube pulled out, just hours after it had been inserted.

Florida law requires that a hearing for an emergency guardianship must be held within three days of its request, and Magouirk's hearing was held April 4 before Judge Boyd. Apparently, he has not made a final ruling, but favors giving permanent guardianship power to Gaddy, who is anxious to end her grandmother's life.

Ron Panzer, president and founder of Hospice Patients Alliance, a patients' rights advocacy group based in Michigan, told WND that what is happening to Magouirk is not at all unusual.

"This is happening in hospices all over the country," he said. "Patients who are not dying – are not terminal – are admitted [to hospice] and the hospice will say they are terminally ill even if they're not. There are thousands of cases like this. Patients are given morphine and ativan to sedate them. If feeding is withheld, they die within 10 days to two weeks. It's really just a form of euthanasia."

Ken Mullinax does not want that to happen to his aunt. He pointed out that one of the ironies in this tragedy is that the now-helpless woman worked for years as a secretary for a prominent local cancer doctor.

"She devoted her whole life to helping those who heal others, and now she's being denied sustenance for life," he said.

Mullinax said he has begged Gaddy to let him take on full responsibility for his aunt's care.

"If she would just give us a chance to keep Aunt Mae alive, that's all we ask," he said. "They [Beth and her husband, Dennis Gaddy] have a family and Beth is a teacher, and it was just getting to be a lot of trouble. But I'm the caregiver for my mom, and Aunt Mae could move in with us. We'll buy another house with a bedroom and we'll take care of her. She can move in with us once she can leave the hospital."

But her health becomes more precarious by the hour. Her vital signs are still good, but since admission to hospice she has not been lucid – "but who would be since nourishment and fluids have been denied since March 28," Mullinax remarked.

Attorney Carol Todd could not be reached for comment; a message on her voicemail said she would not be gone the entire week of April 4. Hospice-LaGrange did not return phone calls.

Hey I go Lucky,

I happened to have another window minimized with the post. I'll try and figure out what the mods don't like and re-post it. All of these phone numbers were in the press release

I have been following this on a different thread.
I also was skeptical, however I feel confident that this story is accurate. Below is a summary of the investigations that well known Freepers have taken today to investigate:

#1First the Press Release Post by Schmelvin here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=1,50

#2Then Schmelving calling the Attorney Here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=106#106
Here's the update:

I don't think this is a hoax. I called the court, gave them the case number, and was able to verify that it is in regards to Mae's estate, but could not get any more info from the woman I spoke to because she didn't know the details. She told me I'd have to speak to Judge Boyd and that he won't be in until 8:00 am tomorrow.

So, Court CASE NUMBER: Estate 138-05 is on record there, and the clerk knew who I was talking about when I mentioned Mae Magouirk's name. The clerk did not know the status of the case or whether or not Beth Gaddy was still Mae's medical power-of-attorney. She did say something about the case being settled yesterday, although I don't know if that means the family won and had the tube reinserted or if Beth Gaddy won and Mae is still starving. I asked if the reason the case had been "settled" was because the patient had already died, and she said, "No".

I called the hospice, but when I mentioned Mae's name, I was immediately transfered to someone who did not pick up the phone. I got her voicemail and left a message. I doubt she will call me back, and I doubt I'll get anything but her voicemail if I call her again.

Another FReeper on this thread said that he/she was able to get through, though, and was told that Mae is in fact a patient there.

I called the attorney's office, and the receptionist told me that she couldn't talk about the case. I told her I was just calling to verify its existence. She still wouldn't talk, but when I mentioned that this was regarding a press release and mentioned the Mullinax name (Mae's sister), she said something to the effect of: "that's the family, our office didn't send out a press release". Then, she told me to email the attorney if I had any questions, and gave me his email address.

I tried to call the family (I have the original press release with all the phone numbers), but the sister's phone rang without anyone picking it up, and the brother's phone number was his work number. He was not there, and the person who answered said, "I don't want to talk about that. He'll be in tomorrow at 7:00 am. Call back tomorrow." I didn't push the matter, because I did not want to cause Mae's brother any trouble at work.

Now, I intend to email the attorney. I will let you know what he says.

#3 BykerBayb making Phone Calls here
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=146#146

My experience was almost the same as yours. I called every number except the judge. I didn't keep notes. Every time I finished one call, I went on to the next.

So, from memory, called and e-mailed Kenneth Mullinax. The recorded message confirmed the story, and asked that only media leave messages, to avoid overloading the machine. So I didn't leave a message.

Called Hospice-LaGrange, (1510 Vernon Street, LaGrange “Troup County” Georgia, 706-845-3905. They confirmed they had a patient named Mae Magouirk. I didn't bother asking questions, because I know they wouldn't be able to answer. I simply informed them that if they didn't resume her nutrition and hydration, there would be a major media blitz.

Called Beth Gaddy (XXX-XXX-XXX). The line was being checked for problems. LOL - maybe it burst into flames!

Called Mr. A. B. McLeod (Her Brother). If memory serves, this number was a business, and I think McLeod was part of the business name. I spoke with a nice lady. I didn't ask questions. I just offered to help in any way they might need. I suggested that I could contact media, legislators, or anyone else they suggested. She took my name and phone number.

Called Mrs. Lonnie Ruth Mullinax (Her sister). I don't remember this call specifically. It's on my list of numbers I called though.

Called Hospice LaGrange’s in-house attorney Carol Todd
(706-882-1411). She's taking the week of April 4 off, but you can call her assistant, K. Lewis 706-812-2462. I got her voice mail. I left a message, letting her know that the media is being contacted, and she'd better make sure the hospice isn't breaking any laws.

Called Her local LaGrange, Ga. cardiologist, Dr. James Brennan (xxx-xxx-xxx). I wonder if I was the first caller. The woman was so polite at first. When I told her I was calling about one of his patients, Mae Magouirk, she remained polite, and confirmed she was a patient. I said I wanted to leave a message for the doctor. She asked what my relationship is to the patient. I told her I'm not related, but I heard she was being starved and dehydrated to death, and they should resume her nutrition and hydration. And... CLICK. I called back, and said, "You hung up on me before I could finish. Tell Dr. Brennan the media is being con... CLICK. I guess she heard enough. I didn't call back.

Called Dr. Raed Aqel, (xxx-xxx-xxxx) a highly acclaimed interventional cardiologist at the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center. Along with Dr. Brennan determined that Mae Magouirk’s aortic dissection is contained and not presently life threatening. His secretary was real nice, and took my message. Pretty much the same message: I'm aware she's being starved and dehydrated to death. I and several other people are contacting the media.

Called attorney for saving Mae’s life: Jack Kirby, Kirby & Roberts. The nice lady who answered the phone couldn't give any information, but she gave me Mr. Kirby's e-mail address. jkirby@kirbyroberts.com .

E-mailed Jack Kirby jkirby@kirbyroberts.com . Explained that I read about Mae Magouirk on the Internet, and that I'd like to help. I offered to contact media, legislators, or anyone else he felt was appropriate.

I did not contact the court.

This is all from memory, after the fact. Some of the details may be a little off, but it's basically accurate.

#4 eeevil conservative calling the Judge here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=147#147

okay

JUST TALKED TO THE JUDGE!

Case WAS settled Monday--

ALL parties agreed on the following.

Three doctors were picked and approved by BOTH PARTIES!

If 2 of the 3 found that Miss Mae could be moved to Emory or Birmingham with a DECENT chance of surivival then this would happen- and that the grandaughter would remain as guardian.

The Doctors had a phone conference Monday night at about 6:00 pm.

What was decided- the judge does not know--

SO please do NOT bug the judge!

#5 eevile conservative calling the lawyer again
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=152#152
This was supposed to be decided on Monday. Today is Thursday and phone calls have confirmed that Miss Mae is still at the Hospice today. Then nothing has been done. Right?
I copied the news release and email it to a dozen FOXNews reporters. Tried CNN but I don't know if they got it. Sent it to local MSM's, too.

#6 eevil conservative talks to the nephew
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?page=229#229

I just talked with the nephew- Kenneth..

The Judge DOES NEED TO BE HOUNDED!

KEEP ON THE JUDGE! Check out Hyscinece for all the latest info on this case-- Kenneth is in touch with them...

He had to get off the 0phone to talk to his attorney- so info should be coming soon!!

#7 and now the WorldNetDaily News story.

Lead story on their home page http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
Granddaughter yanks grandma's feeding tube

There were enough freepers, people I already know from the Terri threads, Bykrbayb for sure, that I think this is real.

It seems sureal, but really after terri Schindler should any of us be surprised.

People LET'S ROLL Everybody ping this post! Let's get organized.

Action trhead is Here
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1379016/posts?q=1&&page=151

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