Posted on 04/29/2005 10:10:26 AM PDT by Calpernia
A 13-year-old boy declared brain dead after the spread of an infection following a dental procedure was taken off a ventilator on Thursday, and his heart and other organs stopped soon after, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The mechanical ventilator for Teron Francis was turned off at the request of his family shortly before 5 p.m., Montefiore Children's Hospital spokeswoman Pamela Adkins said. The boy's heart and other organs stopped by 5:05 p.m.
``Our hearts go out to the family, and we hope they will be allowed to find peace,'' the hospital said in a statement.
Teron was declared brain dead _ a diagnosis the hospital said means ``the patient is dead'' _ and a death certificate was issued last week.
Earlier Thursday, his family asked state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon in the Bronx to vacate his Monday injunction preventing the hospital from taking the teen off the respirator.
The court hearing was attended by two doctors and the boy's mother, Marcelyn Francis.
She testified that she had hoped Teron might recover, that she hoped for a miracle ``but that she now accepted the fact that he was brain dead and there was no chance for his recovery,'' McKeon said in a telephone interview.
``I issued an order that vacated my injunction which prevented the hospital from taking him off life support,'' the judge said.
McKeon said he had issued the restraining order to give the boy's family time to ascertain through a second opinion whether he was indeed brain dead. But the mother had instructed doctors not to revive her son if his heart stopped.
The hospital has said there was no need for the family to go to court because the hospital's long-standing policy is to support and accommodate the family in its decision.
``It is our policy to give the family enough time to come to grips with the realization,'' hospital spokesman Steven Osborne said earlier this week.
McKeon, who took a keen interest in the case and visited Teron in the hospital, said he felt he couldn't make decisions regarding the boy without going to his bedside.
``I said in open court,'' he recalled, ``that I felt that a judge could not be asked to make a decision whether someone lives or dies and not go to the bedside of that person.''
After signing the order Monday, McKeon said he felt that Teron ``became my own child.''
Can you lend your ping list here for an FYI. Thanks.
Judge Greer must be stopped! /sarcasm
What a sad situation.
Agreed
The kid was on a respirator. A BREATHING MACHINE. Not a feeding tube.
Looks like this is the way these cases should be handled. Doctors provide the facts and allow the family time to decide.
Then the family does the deciding.
So much better than jerking that child out of the arms of the mother and killing him.
That's where you get the phrase "pulling the plug." Because in this case- all that was done was that they pulled a plug.
``I said in open court,'' he recalled, ``that I felt that a judge could not be asked to make a decision whether someone lives or dies and not go to the bedside of that person.''
Judge Greer didn't see it that way.
This is a sad situation.
Exactly. While very sad, this isn't the same as the Schiavo situation. This boy was being kept alive artificially while Terri only needed assistance in being fed. Sad all the same...
Once your brain dead you're dead. No point having a machine fill up your corpse's lungs every few seconds.
I hate dentists.
FMCDH(BITS)
I'm absolutely confused about how a dental proceedure spun into life support.
I hope everyone notices that it took 5 minutes for him to pass....NOT TWO WEEKS!
A ventilator is a lot different than a feeding tube, as you said.
Yes, it is awful. I am confused about what happened.
Doesn't the story seem to be leaving alot out?
I don't know about this particular case, but if you have heart disease or other heart problems you're generally asked to take antibiotics before having dental work done.
Perhaps bacteria from the teeth get in the bloodstream during a procedure and then attack the heart.
I agree with you on that.
I didn't realize that at all.
blood poisoning?
A girl that used to babysit my brother and I had a serious blood infection from a dentists drill bit that broke off during a root canal.
Took years for her to get over the infection, it was a really weird case...
MD
This probably was caused by an orthodontist, they are the biggest crooks/quacks in the entire medical/dental field.
Trust a chiropractor before an orthodontist. They should all be in jail for the fraud and misery they cause.
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