Baby Joseph with his father Moe Maraachli
early this morning as they head home to Windsor, Canada.
Posted on 04/21/2011 8:30:38 AM PDT by wagglebee
Baby Joseph with his father Moe Maraachli
early this morning as they head home to Windsor, Canada.
WINDSOR, Ontario, April 21, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Baby Joseph and his family arrived in Windsor, Ontario on a medical transport flight from St. Louis, Missouri this morning. He is now at the family home, according to Brother Paul O’Donnell.
On behalf of Baby Joseph’s family, Brother O’Donnell told LifeSiteNews that that their son was weaned off ventilator support 12 days ago and has been successfully breathing on his own since then.
Baby Joseph, who has been at the center of an international right-to-life debate over the past few months, has defied critics by responding so well to treatment. After the Ontario hospital treating Joseph’s progressive and terminal neurological disease threatened to remove his life support against his parents’ wishes earlier this year, pro-life groups rallied to Joseph’s cause.
With the financial support and assistance of Father Frank Pavone and Priests for Life, Joseph was taken to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri where doctors performed the tracheotomy that Joseph’s parents had been requesting all along.
Sixteen-month-old Baby Joseph received a successful tracheotomy on March 21, responding well to the procedure, which gave him increased mobility and comfort while providing a stable, secure airway. With the tracheotomy, which created an opening into Joseph’s windpipe through an incision in his neck, Joseph’s airway has been kept free from secretions that would have caused him to choke.
Dr. Robert Wilmott, Chief of Pediatrics for SSM Cardinal Glennon and Saint Louis University School of Medicine, said Joseph has been breathing so well on his own there will be no need to take him to a local rehabilitation hospital and he can be transported to Ontario.
“Joseph has been breathing on his own, without the aid of a mechanical ventilator, for more than a week,” Wilmott said. “By providing him with this common palliative procedure, we’ve given Joseph the chance to go home and be with his family after spending so much of his young life in the hospital.”
Meanwhile, Joseph’s parents and 7-year-old brother, who have spent more than a month in St. Louis, have expressed their extreme gratitude to all who have made it possible to save the life of their son.
“So many people from the United States and Canada and all around the world have reached out, sent letters and called my family to let us know they were praying for us and thinking about us,” Joseph’s father Moe Maraachli said. “This has really helped our family through this hard time, to know there is so much kindness in the world.”
“We are so grateful for the amazing care and compassion we have received from the doctors, nurses and staff of Cardinal Glennon. Our family also wants to thank the team at Windsor Regional Hospital for reaching out to our family and Dr. Wilmott and making the transfer back home a reality.”
Commending the staff at Cardinal Glennon, Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life said Joseph has defied so many critics.
“Our mission to save Baby Joseph and help his family was never based on any prediction of the future, but rather on the value of his life here and now. Our critics, on the other hand, looking into the crystal ball that ‘right to die’ advocates seem to always think they have, claimed our intervention was futile because Joseph would only end up having a machine do his breathing for him,” said Fr. Pavone.
“We don’t have to answer their criticism; Joseph is doing that for us, with every breath he takes,” continued Fr. Pavone. “Baby Joseph’s victory over the culture of death is especially powerful now, as we prepare for Easter, a time when Christians everywhere celebrate Jesus’ victory over death.”
“Priests for Life is happy and humbled to have played a small part in making this joyous day possible. We ask everyone to join us as we continue to pray for Baby Joseph and his family.”
You may be right. I’ve heard of a number of people who have gone to Costa Rica for medical treatment.
And instead of the vast majority of Americans receiving excellent care, only the very rich and privileged will be able to afford the cost. What ghouls these politicians are who currently hold power.
"The United States remains the last best hope for a mankind plagued by tyranny and deprivation."-- Ronald Reagan
I was minding my own business.
You guys posted to me.
This baby poses no threat, as long as I do not have to pay for it.
There are thousands of Baby and Adult Josephs in this country. Terminally ill patients.
It is becoming a real issue. The medical profession has the ability to keep someone alive, but at a great cost.
As a society, are we going to be able to afford this?
How do we pay for this?
If you have the answer to this question, you would probably win the Nobel prize.
Who else would you deprive of air? Would eliminate artificial respiration entirely? Is there anyone you would allow assistance in breathing? How about food and water? Where do you draw the line?
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How is baby Joseph a threat to you? Do you even see him as a human being? Or just a threat?
Yep, he is off the ventilator.
Kudos to you on that.
He still is not going to recover.
When do you draw the line?
Gosh. Never thought I would win a Nobel Prize.
It's simple. Walk according to the moral principles that have always been the foundation of this free republic.
God made us all. He made us all equal. He made us in His own image, and of infinite worth.
And He told us to take care of each other, especially the weakest and most helpless among us.
See, problem solved.
When do you stop?
When do you say- it is in Gods hands?
Where is the line?
If you have a relative with terminal cancer, are you going to put them on a ventilator?
There are circumstances under which you consider someone in Baby Joseph's condition to be a "threat"? You are more deranged than I thought.
It is becoming a real issue. The medical profession has the ability to keep someone alive, but at a great cost.
Baby Joseph's treatment cost about $150K and it didn't cost you a penny, he is now OFF THE VENTILATOR. There is no significant ongoing cost.
As a society, are we going to be able to afford this?
You sound EXACTLY like the monsters who created this propaganda:
![](http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm9/wagglebee/euthanasia.jpg?t=1221694000%22";)
It’s always in God’s hands. But He has given us responsibilities to love and care for each other, to the best of our abilities, especially those who are the weakest among us.
Another question-
There is a drug ( I cannot remember the name) that was approved by the FDA, and Medicare.
It prolongs life for 4 months for patients with terminal prostate cancer.
The cost is $90,000 for the drug.
Are you willing to pay for increased taxes, or decreased medicare benefits to prolong life for 4 months?
These questions, and answers are not simple.
Oh, but they are simple.
-- Ronald Reagan"There are no easy answers but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right."
I note that all your questions and "answers" involve government.
Are you a socialist?
I get really tired when you post the Nazi propaganda.
I was just recently at Auschwitz, and let me tell you it does a disservice to compare this baby to the people who lived in subhuman conditions and were exterminated there.
This baby has had attention, and medical treatment for his entire life.
Comparing this baby to Nazis does a disservice to the people who died cruelly by Hitler.
I get really tired when you post the Nazi propaganda.
I was just recently at Auschwitz, and let me tell you it does a disservice to compare this baby to the people who lived in subhuman conditions and were exterminated there.
This baby has had attention, and medical treatment for his entire life.
Comparing this baby to Nazis does a disservice to the people who died cruelly by Hitler.
Do you believe that God would have allowed man to develop life-saving medical practices if He didn't want us to use them?
If you have a relative with terminal cancer, are you going to put them on a ventilator?
Baby Joseph IS NOT on a ventilator.
This baby poses no threat, as long as I do not have to pay for it.
I don't believe you. I think Baby Joseph is a threat to your agenda. I don't think you'd be calling for him to be killed if you didn't have a strong reason.
There are thousands of Baby and Adult Josephs in this country.
There sure are. Will we treat them with compassion, or will we kill them?
Terminally ill patients.
What do you think that means?
It is becoming a real issue. The medical profession has the ability to keep someone alive, but at a great cost.
It has been an issue since the dawn of mankind. We're all going to die. Eliminating the medical profession won't solve the problem. There is a reason we have medical professionals. We want them to treat us. That's not a bad thing. We're willing to pay them to treat us and those we care about. We're not willing to pay them to refuse to treat us.
As a society, are we going to be able to afford this?
Yes, we will continue to afford it, as we always have. It is not your place to tell us we can't pay for and receive medical care.
How do we pay for this?
It was paid for with voluntary contributions, which you tried to discourage.
If you have the answer to this question, you would probably win the Nobel prize.
I've found more valuable prizes in a box of Cracker Jacks.
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