Posted on 03/01/2006 7:03:01 PM PST by KSApplePie_two
Facts don't matter to some folks.
this is so sad. As much as I believe that is a likely this child will not recover I still think the parents have rights to take the child home and care for him as they see fit!
I'm just speculating, but I think what's going on here is pride and maybe a little bit of CYA by the hospital. I'm thinking that the doctors usually just tell parents that their little one didn't make it and the parents typically allow them to remove life support. This family is different, and bucked the doctor's opinion. They didn't accept the medical opinion that the baby was gone. One of the doctors early on said something about not wanting to do any more for the baby, that he had the needs of the living to attend to, and the parents got offended. The hospital got the doctor to apologize for his remarks, but now there is this suspicion that something could have been done, but the doctor didn't try. That's what I mean about CYA. I think this is a precursor to, "well it's not our fault, we couldn't help the baby." Therefore, they press the court to let them remove the life support.
I think it should be within the parents' rights to allow the baby to come home with them and give it a try. There's a reason for getting second and third opinions. Someone may have a treatment that the parents would like to try. It should be given a chance to work. There is too fast a rush by the hospital to label this as futile care. It's only been a few weeks.
Why are they always in such a hurry? The boy is so young, and can heal. They don't even want to give him a chance.
Prayers for all.
I assume you could have a vent at home, can you not?
Have them contact POND - Parents Of Near Drowning, they might be able to help.
I've been through the whole transplant system with my own 4 month old. For children there is a PELD scoring system used to decide who gets organs and then the surgeons will fly-in from the different transplant hospitals to get whichever organs have been donated to them.
UNOS manages the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Their website http://www.unos.org has a lot of information on how the transplant system in this country works. They also have databases on how each transplant center does which was really useful when dealing with my own little guys problems: http://www.topm.com/aidan
Something is going on here, but its not about getting the poor little guy's organs without his parents permission.
Prayers for the him and his family. I can't imagine anything tougher for a parent than to have their own children suffering.
How is your baby doing? I've read up on the transplant procedures off and on, and it is a miracle what humans have accomplished, under the Lord's guidance. I'm blessed that the only thing that my kids got was the "ornery" gene, and I cannot imagine what you and other parents are going through.
We're just trying to figure out what the heck is going on with this particular situation.
Pride goeth before a fall. CYA is active in Haleigh's story, and probably Brett's as well. For the life of me, I just don't understand why the hospital took this to court. Your explanation is as good as any.
FWIW, the medical profession has been so subverted by HMO's and government interference, that doctors and nurses can come off cold and uncaring. They don't answer to their oath, but to their employer's bottom line. I don't think the doctor who made that unfortunate statement did it to hurt the parents, he just unconsciously stated what the new mission statement is.
It's only been a few weeks. Babies have been known to recuperate from these kinds of accidents. Let's keep Brett in our prayers.
Is there any new news on Brett?
He is doing much better now. He still has some problems, but life for him is mostly much calmer. Last month he had a seizure while we were out and we had to rush in to the ER where he had stopped breathing.
When he was very sick the doctors at the hospital went to bat for him and were his champions. He was in the NICU for 3 months pre-transplant and although they would never say it, you could tell that no one expected him to survive. But that didn't stop them from doing whatever they could for him.
About a month after the transplant one of the doctors said he was a "true medical miracle." Me: "so the odds were real high against him?" Doctor: "In the stratosphere" (while holding his hand high above his head.
I pray for this family that one day a doctor can say the same thing to them.
There is good news on Brett,Jr. The court has given them another extension! Go to post 19 and click on updates for more info about Brett's whole situation.
http://web.mac.com/brettjr/iWeb/Pray%20for%20Brett%20Jr/Updates/DAC69CA8-C7AC-4473-8243-06A6D63A8898.html
I almost certain they have contacted POND. I read that on Brett Jr's web site.
That's good to hear! I haven't gone through the whole website yet. One more thing to add to my "to do" list.
Thanks.
Me too. Even if there is substantial brain damage a two year old still has a lot of 'plasticity' in brain development and the undamaged portions can compensate and fulfill the missing functions.
He's got a hard road ahead of him, but it is very possible that in a few years no one who didn't already know about the near drowning would have any cause to think he was different from his peers in any way.
I agree. I would want to take care of my family member myself if at all possible.
susie
Sadly, this situation is both more complicated AND more simple than the public perception. The basis for the controversy is essentially over the confusion over the term "brain death". Brain death IS death. It is simply another means of determining that death has occurred. Brain death is fundamentally different from severe brain damage resulting in a PVS (persistent vegetative state, as in Terri Schiavo's condition), or a coma. In both a PVS and a coma, there IS brain activity. The brain stem remains intact,and "tells" the body to breathe and maintain metabolism, etc. When brain DEATH occurs, the stem is either irreparably damaged or pulled out of place and there is complete cessation of brain activity.There is NO recovery from this, and the only way to keep the body functions operating is through ventilation. The vent pushes the oxygen through the lungs and keeps the heart beating. Cardiac cessation is the commonly known standard for determining death, and the concept of determining death by neurological standards (i.e. brain death) was implemented in the late 20th century. However, I believe that the misperception of the idea of "legally dead" as not being "really dead" is the problem here. "Legally dead" to dead is NOT like "legally blind" is to blind. The testing that the medical profession has to do to determine death by neurological standards is intensive and ANY response to ANY stimuli or positive reactions to testing rules out a declaration of death. What is occurring here, with the family refusing the definitive final testing, is akin to the family refusing to allow the doctor to put a stethoscope to his chest to determine that the heart has stopped beating. They assert their belief that his body needs time to heal, and that God will regenerate the brain. If it were the heart that had stopped beating, and they insisted that it was just "resting" and needed time to heal and that God would start the heart beating again, most people would be able to see the hospital's point of view much more easily. That is why the parents won't allow the testing to take place, because if the doctors find thru testing that the child has died, then there would be no option of continuing "life support" for a dead patient. If Brett IS dead, his heart would stop just minutes after the vent was removed. In most cases of death being determined by neurological standards, the doctors let the family know that the patient has passed on, and then remove the vent themselves. It is VERY difficult for many people to understand that their loved one is dead while the heart still beats and the body is still warm. In most cases, artificially maintaining a dead patient's organs on a vent lasts a short period of time, because the metabolism is extremely unstable, and all the brain's functions have to be manually maintained. I feel very badly for this family, I'm from Wichita and know some of their friends. However, I also feel badly for the beating that the hospital has taken for simply trying to do it's job. If there was ANY evidence of brain function after the remaining tests were done, then life support would be continued. There are no degrees of death, simply different means of determining that death has occurred. The confusion over the definition of "brain death" is the main reason for this controversy.
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