Posted on 08/03/2005 1:08:28 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Brain-Dead Woman Dies After Giving Birth
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
ARLINGTON, Va. - A brain dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, her family said.
Susan Torres' plight attracted worldwide sympathy after she suffered a stroke in May as she battled cancer. She gave birth to a daughter, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, on Tuesday by Caesarean section.
"This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, her brother-in-law, said in a statement.
With the consent of her husband, Jason Torres, doctors at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington turned off Torres' life support early Wednesday after she received the final sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church.
"We thank all of those who prayed and provided support for Susan, the baby and our family," Jason Torres said in a statement released by the hospital.
"We especially thank God for giving us little Susan. My wife's courage will never be forgotten," he said.
The delivery went smoothly and the baby "is doing well," Justin Torres had said earlier in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The baby weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces, he said.
Torres, a 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, lost consciousness from a stroke May 7 after aggressive melanoma spread to her brain. Her husband, Jason Torres, said doctors told him his wife's brain functions had stopped.
The infant is being monitored in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.
Jason Torres quit his job to be by his wife's side, spending each night sleeping in a reclining chair next to her bed. Last month, the fetus passed the 24th week of development — the earliest point at which doctors felt the baby would have a reasonable chance to survive, the brother-in-law said.
Torres was about seven months pregnant when the child was delivered. Doctors had hoped to hold off on delivering the child until 32 weeks' gestation. A full-term pregnancy is about 40 weeks.
A Web site was set up to help raise money for the family's mounting medical bills, and as of two weeks ago, people from around the world had donated around $400,000. The family said it must pay tens of thousands of dollars each week that insurance does not cover.
The couple have one other child — 2-year-old Peter, who has been staying with his grandparents.
"The entire staff and administration of Virginia Hospital Center, especially the physicians and nurses caring for Susan Torres and Baby Girl Torres, are delighted with the successful delivery," the hospital said in a statement. A spokeswoman declined to release additional details.
Since 1979, there have been at least a dozen similar cases published in English medical literature, said Dr. Winston Campbell, director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, which conducted research on the topic.
RIP, my prayers to her family.
Terri Schiavo should have been so lucky.
FYI - so sad.
This is love in it purist form. I hope God sends his angels to watch over this special family.
I am so glad the baby is doing okay. I pray that the baby will continue to get stronger each and everyday, and also for the family.
Ping!
Sad but inspiring. May God bless the soul of this angel and may the child live a long and satisfying life.
Prayers for the her and her family.
Mr. Torres still pulled the plug on her though, but just because he quit his job and stayed with her day and night there is a difference? </playing devil's advocate>
RIP Mrs. Torres.
Thanks for the ping Coleus.Prayers.
...there is a difference?
I'm sure that's what some will say. Susan Torres body was being rapidly overtaken with cancer and could not have lived long in any case. Terri Schiavo could have lived on if only they'd given her food and water.
I think about you often!!!!!!!
She was brain dead, not just "persistent vegetative state" which was even then only agreed to by a fraction of the people who were seeing her.
Thanks. It is nice feeling to know to many people think and care about you, even when they do not know you!
I don't recall anyone ever saying that Terri was "brain dead". Just a PVS. Nor did Mrs. Torres take a month to die. Hopefully, they're both in the same place now.
I thought Terri died 12 days after they removed her feeding tubes?
My most sincere prayers for the repose of Susan's soul and for her family left her upon the earth with us. May this little girl be dowered with many special gifts and graces from the Lord.
While I knew this was going to be the final result, it is still so sad. Too bad she never got to see her daughter!! I hope the little always knows how much her mom and dad love her!!
Please folks, do we have to always bicker about situations like this. This isn't the same case as Terri Schiavo.
I bet if there was a Freeper poll amoung mothers here, there wouldn't be one who wouldn't want to be kept alive long enough to deliver the child that she carried. Any comparison is apples to oranges as there were 2 lives involved in this case. And thank goodness, one of those lives appears to be doing quite well!!
Prayers for the new dad and the rest of the family
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