Judge Blocks Hospital From Switching Off Life Support On Brain Dead Girl Jahi McMath For One Week

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Judge Blocks Hospital From Switching Off Life Support On Brain Dead Girl Jahi McMath For One Week

Hospital Refuses To Perform Surgery On Brain Dead Teen To Prepare Her For Nursing Home

December 30. 2013

Today, a California judge granted a last minute reprieve to the family of Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl, who was to be switched off life support this evening. A time extension has been granted to January 7, 2014. The Children's Hospital Oakland botched a tonsillectomy on McMath, who then began hemorrhaging and experiencing cardiac arrest.

Last week, the hospital had a local court declare McMath brain dead and petitioned for permission to switch off life support. The court granted their legal request, issuing a court order to that effect. This week, the hospital is refusing to perform a tracheotomy and the surgical insertion of a feeding tube on McMath, a prerequisite for long term care homes to accept the minor child. The hospital has stated they do not perform such procedures on patients they deem dead.

Jahi McMath

As a result, two long term care nursing homes in California reneged on their offer to accept McMath as a patient to their facility. The family has since found another nursing home in New York. However, it is still contingent on a tracheotomy being performed and feeding tube insertion.

The hospital is now stating the family needs to find a physician willing to perform the necessary surgeries to prepare McMath for a nursing home. The family has raised $27,000 on GoFundMe.com to move McMath to a nursing home.

The Judiciary Report is of the belief, the Children's Hospital Oakland needs to perform the tracheotomy and feeding tube insertion for free, as their surgeon put McMath in this unresponsive medial state. It's the least the hospital could do, as a routine tonsillectomy should not have ended in hemorrhaging, cardiac arrest and brain death. And let's not forget, you are dealing with a child. A significant amount of sensitivity to a terrible situation needs to be utilized.