Baby Isaiah taken off life-support, passes away in Edmonton hospital

CTV Calgary ^ | Thu Mar. 11 2010

[BykrBayb]

Baby Isaiah May passed away Thursday after being taken off life-support, ending a three-month, high-profile effort to prolong his life. A lawyer representing the family confirmed the news of the infant's passing to media Thursday afternoon.

"Isaiah James May passed away at 12:11 this afternoon. He was in the arms of his parents," said Rosanna Saccomani.

Rebecka and Isaac May issued a statement saying, "All along it was our hope that his condition would brighten and improve, it has not."

They went on to say, "Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts. We have set our tiny miracle free and he is now in the arms of angels."

Dr. Richard Taylor, an independent neonatologist, said in a statement Thursday he examined the infant on Feb. 19th and 20th.

"When I examined Isaiah, I confirmed that he did have movements of his trunk and limbs, as witnessed by his parents. He had gained weight since his birth and had bodily functions as they had reported. He was not in any distress. But on testing the nerves entering and leaving his brain, I confirmed that his reflexes were all completely absent. He was also unable to breathe for himself without airway and ventilator support."

~snip~

Alberta Health Services issued this statement Thursday afternoon:

"Understandably this is an extremely emotional time and it is important to be respectful of the May family's need for privacy given the difficult decision they have made. All Alberta Health Services' physicians and staff who have been involved in caring for Baby Isaiah were touched by the May family's strength. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. At this time we would ask that the family's request for privacy be respected."

~snip~

[Owl558]

“What a beautiful baby! I couldn’t imagine losing a little one that I had held for three months.”

My wife is a neo-natal respritory therapist who deals with patients like this. Each one is an emotional roller coaster for the parents and the health care worker. She has 20-years experience and still comes home from time to time crying over a baby that doesn’t make it, or over parents who reject their “special needs” baby (it happens).

Right now she has a pair of premie twins (boy and girl)who are probably not going to make it. So sad.

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

God bless your wife. What she has is not a job but a calling!

[Grunthor]

“Do YOU support the concept of death panels that get to determine who lives and who dies?”

I support the immediate family making an informed decision after being counseled by their doctors.

[Grunthor]

From your link;

Isaiah was born in the Rocky Mountain House Hospital after a difficult 40-hour delivery. On Oct. 24th, the boy was airlifted to Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital because Isaiah’s umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck, resulting in severe oxygen deprivation. He was then placed on a ventilator in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

The hospital declared Isaiah “brain dead”

---

What do YOU consider “brain dead?”

[wagglebee]

I support the immediate family making an informed decision after being counseled by their doctors.

This family was pressured into it.

[wagglebee]

What do YOU consider “brain dead?”

As best I've ever been able to tell "brain dead" is a term used to rationalize killing someone:

"Brain Death" is Life, Not Death: Neurologists and Bioethicists Unanimous at Conference

 

"Brain Death" Test Causes Brain Necrosis and Kills Patients: Neurologist to Rome Conference

 

Deciding when life has come to an end, Medical board to review who can declare when brain dead

 

The Demise of "Brain Death"

Vatican Newspaper: Brain Death and thus Organ Donation Must be Reconsidered

 

[Grunthor]

“This family was pressured into it.”

Was that what they said?

[Grunthor]

I was asking for your personal opinion, not a bunch of links. How incapacitated would YOU personally have to be before YOU personally consider it “brain dead?”

[Global2010]

My son was stillborn.
Revived and in those days (no life flight) a team of docs came to get him and take him to a Childrens Hosp.

Upon taking him home with severe brain damage they said he would not live past a month and would be severly physically and mentally brain damaged.

Right about the physically part but he has had a bright intellectually humorous fufilling life so far. 31yrs later. : )

Not to mention the effect he has had on those in the world around him.

I cannot speak for this lil bambino in the story but just wanted to share.

[wagglebee]

I guess you missed the part where they have been battling the Canadian deathcare system in court for two months to keep Baby Isaiah alive.

[wagglebee]

I was asking for your personal opinion, not a bunch of links. How incapacitated would YOU personally have to be before YOU personally consider it “brain dead?”

Brain death IS NOT "incapacitation" no matter how you want to portray it.

What I "personally" want is not important because it will ALWAYS be possible to find someone who "wouldn't want to live like that" and then apply that as the benchmark.

Where would YOU draw the line? Who do YOU think should live? Why would YOU handicap yourself with something like brain death when you could just as easily say IQ or motor functions or earning capacity or cost?

“This person suffering from hereditary defects

costs the people 60,000 Reichmarks during his lifetime.

People, that is your money. Read ‘New People’.”

[Grunthor]

Rebecka and Isaac May issued a statement saying, “All along it was our hope that his condition would brighten and improve, it has not.”

They went on to say, “Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts. We have set our tiny miracle free and he is now in the arms of angels.”

---

Forgive me but they do not sound pressured. The sound like a couple that fought to give their child every chance at life and that chance inevitably ran out. They appear to have come to that understanding. If I was the father and disagreed with the decision to remove the machines that were pumping air and blood through my childs’ body...there is nothing that I would stop at up to and including assaulting someone trying to remove said machines.

These folks were not pressured.

[Grunthor]

Thank you for your post but until you can answer a simple question, I am going to have to assume that you are far to emotionally invested to discuss the matter civilly and logically, I will leave you to this thread.

Have a nice day.

[wagglebee]

Forgive me but they do not sound pressured. The sound like a couple that fought to give their child every chance at life and that chance inevitably ran out.

You've got to be kidding!

They were informed that their child would be taken off life support and then they went to court to prevent that. How can you possibly say that they weren't pressured into this?

[Global2010]

If the folks chose to take him home on a vent would you still have an issue, meaning he would not be in a hosp at the high expense.

There is no reason they could not have taken him home on a vent.

I wonder if they were givin that option.

Do you support taking all those on vents off who live in the community?

Those who enjoy life and cope with the physical suffering of whatever their disability is?

Or just in this case?

[wagglebee]

Thank you for your post but until you can answer a simple question,

Perhaps you missed it. My ANSWER is that I REFUSE to provide a benchmark that determines who should live and who should die. Determining life and death is GOD'S DECISION and HIS ALONE.

[DollyCali]

beautiful story. Thank you & God bless your family!

[Global2010]

Not so expensive if they would have trained (simple) the parents to care for him at home with the vent.

I wonder if the parents were given this option?

Use to be decades ago us parents of the post accidents/near drowning/stillborn/revived brain injuries were trained to do just that after the hosp had finished all the medical care issues that required ICU care.

[wagglebee]

This family was told that their son would be killed, they had to go to court to try to prevent that.

[Global2010]

Very interesting program on pro life issues the Doctor said that the Advance Directives are a product of the Death Camp advocates.

One will never know the future of what there medical issue is so how can they sign a legal doc saying no feeding tube ect....

In some cases a feeding tube is a temp medical care need in healing...ect ect...

Wonderful program on right to life and the other camp.