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FIXED! majority medical consensus knows that mcMath is "clinically living" lol the refs. do not prove otherwise
The view *is in contrast to the consensus view of the medical establishment* per cited reliable sources. Cease the disruption.
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After the family filed a lawsuit in [[Alameda County Superior Court]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Children's Hospital Oakland, Petitioner's Writ Petition Mcmath-12302013|url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/199529494/Children-s-Hospital-Oakland-Petitioner-s-Writ-Petition-Mcmath-12302013}}</ref> Judge Evelio Grillo approved an independent second opinion. Paul Graham Fisher, the chief of Child Neurology at [[Stanford University School of Medicine]], was appointed by the court and affirmed the diagnosis of brain death. According to Fisher, McMath had no activity on an [[electroencephalogram]], no blood flow to the brain and did not breathe when removed from mechanical ventilation, all of which are standard clinical indications of total brain death.<ref name="McMathRuling">{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24787952/jahi-mcmath-neurologist-present-test-results-at-closed?source=pkg|title=Jahi McMath: Judge denies petition to keep girl on ventilator past Dec. 30|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|date=December 24, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014|last1=DeBolt|first1=David|last2=Hurd|first2=Rick}}</ref><ref name="HospitalPetition">{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24788294/document-hospitals-petition-opposing-an-independent-expert-asking|title=Document: Hospital's petition opposing an independent expert, asking to lift the order to keep Jahi McMath on life support|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|date=December 24, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref> "
After the family filed a lawsuit in [[Alameda County Superior Court]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Children's Hospital Oakland, Petitioner's Writ Petition Mcmath-12302013|url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/199529494/Children-s-Hospital-Oakland-Petitioner-s-Writ-Petition-Mcmath-12302013}}</ref> Judge Evelio Grillo approved an independent second opinion. Paul Graham Fisher, the chief of Child Neurology at [[Stanford University School of Medicine]], was appointed by the court and affirmed the diagnosis of brain death. According to Fisher, McMath had no activity on an [[electroencephalogram]], no blood flow to the brain and did not breathe when removed from mechanical ventilation, all of which are standard clinical indications of total brain death.<ref name="McMathRuling">{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24787952/jahi-mcmath-neurologist-present-test-results-at-closed?source=pkg|title=Jahi McMath: Judge denies petition to keep girl on ventilator past Dec. 30|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|date=December 24, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014|last1=DeBolt|first1=David|last2=Hurd|first2=Rick}}</ref><ref name="HospitalPetition">{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24788294/document-hospitals-petition-opposing-an-independent-expert-asking|title=Document: Hospital's petition opposing an independent expert, asking to lift the order to keep Jahi McMath on life support|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|date=December 24, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref> "


The family filed a motion to have Dr. Paul A. Byrne conduct his own independent analysis. The hospital objected<ref name="HospitalPetition"/> on the grounds that Dr. Byrne is not a pediatric neurologist, but rather a pediatrician and neonatologist, and further alleged that Byrne is a member of a small minority of doctors who believe that brain death is not [[clinical death]], a view which is not in contrast to the consensus view of the medical establishment.<ref name="NEJM"/><ref name="HospitalResponse"/><ref name="Neurology"/> Byrne told the Associated Press that he had not seen McMath's medical records, but said that she was not dead because "The ventilator won't work on a corpse. In a corpse, the ventilator pushes the air in, but it won't come out. Just the living person pushes the air out."<ref name="APCBS">[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-jahi-mcmath-brain-dead-after-tonsil-surgery-court-appointed-doctor-confirms/ Calif. judge: Brain-dead teen can be taken off life support], Associated Press, Dec. 24, 2013</ref> The court did not grant the motion before making its ruling.<ref name="APCBS"/>
The family filed a motion to have Dr. Paul A. Byrne conduct his own independent analysis. The hospital objected<ref name="HospitalPetition"/> on the grounds that Dr. Byrne is not a pediatric neurologist, but rather a pediatrician and neonatologist, and further alleged that Byrne is a member of a small minority of doctors who believe that brain death is not [[clinical death]], a view which is in contrast to the consensus view of the medical establishment.<ref name="NEJM"/><ref name="HospitalResponse"/><ref name="Neurology"/> Byrne told the Associated Press that he had not seen McMath's medical records, but said that she was not dead because "The ventilator won't work on a corpse. In a corpse, the ventilator pushes the air in, but it won't come out. Just the living person pushes the air out."<ref name="APCBS">[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-jahi-mcmath-brain-dead-after-tonsil-surgery-court-appointed-doctor-confirms/ Calif. judge: Brain-dead teen can be taken off life support], Associated Press, Dec. 24, 2013</ref> The court did not grant the motion before making its ruling.<ref name="APCBS"/>


On December 24, 2013, Judge Grillo ruled that McMath was legally dead, basing his decision on the medical evidence presented by physicians from Children's Hospital Oakland and from independent expert Dr. Paul Fisher.<ref name="McMathRuling"/> Grillo told the family "This has been very, very hard on you. No one anywhere would wish this to happen to anyone."<ref name="McMathRuling"/> The family appealed the decision to the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]], calling for the hospital to continue [[life support]] measures until other arrangements could be made by the family.<ref name="nbcbayarea1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Jahi-McMath-Family-Granted-Extension-to-Keep-Girl-on-Life-Support-238139271.html|title=Extension Granted to Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support|publisher=NBC Bay Area|date=December 31, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref> McMath's mother argued that applying the [[Uniform Determination of Death Act]] to the case was a violation of constitutional religious and privacy rights<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jahi-mcmath-20131230,0,3497539.story|title=Hospital says conditions must be met for Jahi McMath's transfer|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=December 30, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014|last=Romney|first=Lee}}</ref> and that because Jahi's heart was still beating, she was still alive.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jahi McMath's family seeks to move brain-dead girl to another facility|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/26/health/jahi-mcmath-girl-brain-dead/|publisher=CNN|accessdate=December 27, 2013|date=December 27, 2013|last=Ford|first=Dana}}</ref><ref name="GlobeForrow"/> The hospital argued that it would be unethical and "grotesque" to require the hospital and its doctors to provide further medical care to a dead body.<ref name="HospitalResponse">[http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Hosp_Opp_Motion_Compel_tube_01-03-14.pdf OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER LIFE SUPPORT AND THE INSTALLATION OF A TRACHEOSTOMY TUBE AND GASTRIC FEEDING TUBE TO ALLOW TRANSPORTATION OF JAHI MCMATH], United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Jan. 7, 2014</ref> Grillo granted an extension to keep Jahi's body on a [[ventilator]] until January 7, 2014 pending transfer to her parents,<ref name="nbcbayarea1"/> but denied the family's petition to force hospital staff to insert a [[tracheostomy]] and a [[feeding tube]] before the transfer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Jahi-McMath-Family-Back-in-Court-Lawyer-Declares-Hearing-A-Victory-238627721.html|title=Jahi McMath Family Cleared to Take Brain-Dead Teen From Hospital|publisher=NBC Bay Area|date=January 4, 2014|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref>
On December 24, 2013, Judge Grillo ruled that McMath was legally dead, basing his decision on the medical evidence presented by physicians from Children's Hospital Oakland and from independent expert Dr. Paul Fisher.<ref name="McMathRuling"/> Grillo told the family "This has been very, very hard on you. No one anywhere would wish this to happen to anyone."<ref name="McMathRuling"/> The family appealed the decision to the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]], calling for the hospital to continue [[life support]] measures until other arrangements could be made by the family.<ref name="nbcbayarea1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Jahi-McMath-Family-Granted-Extension-to-Keep-Girl-on-Life-Support-238139271.html|title=Extension Granted to Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support|publisher=NBC Bay Area|date=December 31, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref> McMath's mother argued that applying the [[Uniform Determination of Death Act]] to the case was a violation of constitutional religious and privacy rights<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jahi-mcmath-20131230,0,3497539.story|title=Hospital says conditions must be met for Jahi McMath's transfer|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=December 30, 2013|accessdate=February 27, 2014|last=Romney|first=Lee}}</ref> and that because Jahi's heart was still beating, she was still alive.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jahi McMath's family seeks to move brain-dead girl to another facility|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/26/health/jahi-mcmath-girl-brain-dead/|publisher=CNN|accessdate=December 27, 2013|date=December 27, 2013|last=Ford|first=Dana}}</ref><ref name="GlobeForrow"/> The hospital argued that it would be unethical and "grotesque" to require the hospital and its doctors to provide further medical care to a dead body.<ref name="HospitalResponse">[http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Hosp_Opp_Motion_Compel_tube_01-03-14.pdf OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER LIFE SUPPORT AND THE INSTALLATION OF A TRACHEOSTOMY TUBE AND GASTRIC FEEDING TUBE TO ALLOW TRANSPORTATION OF JAHI MCMATH], United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Jan. 7, 2014</ref> Grillo granted an extension to keep Jahi's body on a [[ventilator]] until January 7, 2014 pending transfer to her parents,<ref name="nbcbayarea1"/> but denied the family's petition to force hospital staff to insert a [[tracheostomy]] and a [[feeding tube]] before the transfer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Jahi-McMath-Family-Back-in-Court-Lawyer-Declares-Hearing-A-Victory-238627721.html|title=Jahi McMath Family Cleared to Take Brain-Dead Teen From Hospital|publisher=NBC Bay Area|date=January 4, 2014|accessdate=February 27, 2014}}</ref>

Revision as of 23:33, 2 March 2014

The Jahi McMath case centers on a 13-year-old girl in California who was declared brain-dead following surgery, and the bioethical debate surrounding her family's rejection of the medicolegal finding of death in this case, and their efforts to maintain her body on mechanical ventilation.[1][2][3][4][5]

On December 9, 2013, McMath suffered massive blood loss and consequent cardiac arrest after undergoing surgery at Children's Hospital Oakland aimed at relieving symptoms from sleep apnea. The loss of blood circulation caused whole brain death, according to her doctors. Her family refused to accept the medical declaration of death, asserted that McMath was not dead and initiated legal proceedings in an effort to force the hospital to continue treatment.[6][7][8][4] On January 3, 2014, the Alameda County coroner's office issued an unofficial death certificate for McMath with a date of December 12, 2013. The coroner's office said the death certificate was incomplete, pending an autopsy to determine cause of death.[9][10][11]

According to court documents,[12] McMath was admitted to Children's Hospital Oakland on December 9, 2013 to perform an adenotonsillectomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and submucous resection of bilateral inferior turbinates. It was hoped these procedures would provide improved airflow during her sleep at night. The family has described the surgery as routine, while the hospital described the procedure as complicated in court documents.[13]

After the surgeries were performed, McMath was conscious and recovering and, according to her mother Nailah Winkfield, asked for a Popsicle while in the recovery room.[14] She was later moved to the ICU before she started to bleed from her nose and mouth and went into cardiac arrest. During this time, blood flow to the brain was lost for an undisclosed period of time. On December 12, 2013, her doctors declared her brain-dead and her family was informed that as she was legally dead, life support systems would be removed.[12] According to the hospital, this was in accordance with standard guidelines for determining brain death.[15][16][17] The practice of medicine worldwide recognizes that a person is dead when their brain is dead[18], the American Academy of Neurology publishes standards for the determination of total brain death[16] and it is a criteria for legal death in all 50 states.[19][20][21][22][23]

After the family filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court,[24] Judge Evelio Grillo approved an independent second opinion. Paul Graham Fisher, the chief of Child Neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine, was appointed by the court and affirmed the diagnosis of brain death. According to Fisher, McMath had no activity on an electroencephalogram, no blood flow to the brain and did not breathe when removed from mechanical ventilation, all of which are standard clinical indications of total brain death.[25][26] "

The family filed a motion to have Dr. Paul A. Byrne conduct his own independent analysis. The hospital objected[26] on the grounds that Dr. Byrne is not a pediatric neurologist, but rather a pediatrician and neonatologist, and further alleged that Byrne is a member of a small minority of doctors who believe that brain death is not clinical death, a view which is in contrast to the consensus view of the medical establishment.[18][15][16] Byrne told the Associated Press that he had not seen McMath's medical records, but said that she was not dead because "The ventilator won't work on a corpse. In a corpse, the ventilator pushes the air in, but it won't come out. Just the living person pushes the air out."[27] The court did not grant the motion before making its ruling.[27]

On December 24, 2013, Judge Grillo ruled that McMath was legally dead, basing his decision on the medical evidence presented by physicians from Children's Hospital Oakland and from independent expert Dr. Paul Fisher.[25] Grillo told the family "This has been very, very hard on you. No one anywhere would wish this to happen to anyone."[25] The family appealed the decision to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, calling for the hospital to continue life support measures until other arrangements could be made by the family.[28] McMath's mother argued that applying the Uniform Determination of Death Act to the case was a violation of constitutional religious and privacy rights[29] and that because Jahi's heart was still beating, she was still alive.[30][23] The hospital argued that it would be unethical and "grotesque" to require the hospital and its doctors to provide further medical care to a dead body.[15] Grillo granted an extension to keep Jahi's body on a ventilator until January 7, 2014 pending transfer to her parents,[28] but denied the family's petition to force hospital staff to insert a tracheostomy and a feeding tube before the transfer.[31]

On January 5, 2014, Children's Hospital released Jahi's body to the Alameda County coroner, which then released her body to the custody of her mother, who was warned-of and assumed all risk regarding cardiac arrest during the transfer.[32][33][34] The family moved the girl to an undisclosed location and inserted a tracheostomy and feeding tube.[35] In February 2014, the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network announced that Jahi McMath's family are the recipients of an annual award. The award recognizes "the unconditional love they have for Jahi, and their courage as they continue the fight for their daughter against overwhelming odds".[36] As of February 20, 2014, Jahi’s mother continues to maintain that Jahi is alive and "not a dead body."[37][38]

References

  1. ^ Simon; Schoichet, Catherine E. (December 24, 2013). "Judge: California teen is brain dead after tonsil surgery". cnn.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Grossman, Cathy Lynn (Jan. 3, 2014). "Family, ethics, medicine and law collide in Jahi McMath's life - or death". Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Sabo, Liz (Jan. 10, 2014). "The Ethics Of Being Brain Dead: Doctors And Bioethicists Discuss Jahi McMath And Marlise Munoz". USA Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Banks, Sandy (January 3, 2014). "In Jahi McMath saga, science and religion clash". latimes.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Veatch, Robert (02 January 2014). "Let parents decide if teen is dead". CNN Opinion. Retrieved 27 February 2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Fernandez, Lisa (December 21, 2013). "Judge Orders Oakland Hospital to Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support". NBC News.
  7. ^ Mungin, Lateef; Condor, Chuck (January 4, 2014). "Jahi McMath's family, Oakland hospital discussing girl's transfer". CNN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Lee, Henry K. (January 3, 2014). "Hospital agrees to let Jahi McMath family take girl". SFGate. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  9. ^ "Jahi McMath Family Cleared to Take Brain-Dead Teen From Hospital". NBC Bay Area. January 4, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "Jahi McMath's family, Oakland hospital discussing girl's transfer". The coroner's office said that the death certificate -- which still needs to be accepted by the health department to become official -- has a date of death of December 12, 2013
  11. ^ Branson, Hailey (January 5, 2014). "Jahi McMath, brain-dead teen, transferred to undisclosed location". latimes.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Bender, Kristin J.; Alund, Natalie Neysa (December 21, 2013). "Judge grants restraining order keeping brain dead Oakland girl on ventilator through Monday". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Collins, Terry (December 21, 2013). "Jahi McMath, Girl Left Brain Dead From Routine Tonsillectomy, To Be Kept On Life Support". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  14. ^ "Document: Appeal describes Jahi McMath's post-surgical bleeding before heart attack, brain death". Contra Costa Times. December 30, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  15. ^ a b c OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER LIFE SUPPORT AND THE INSTALLATION OF A TRACHEOSTOMY TUBE AND GASTRIC FEEDING TUBE TO ALLOW TRANSPORTATION OF JAHI MCMATH, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Jan. 7, 2014
  16. ^ a b c Evidence-based guideline update: Determining brain death in adults. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. American Academy of Neurology, June 8, 2010
  17. ^ Goila AK, Pawar M (2009). "The diagnosis of brain death". Indian J Crit Care Med. 13 (1): 7–11. doi:10.4103/0972-5229.53108. PMC 2772257. PMID 19881172.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  18. ^ a b The Diagnosis of Brain Death, Dr. Eelco F.M. Wijdicks, The New England Journal of Medicine, April 19, 2001
  19. ^ Joffe AR (2009). "Brain death is not death: a critique of the concept, criterion, and tests of brain death". Rev Neurosci. 20 (3–4): 187–98. PMID 20157989.
  20. ^ Shewmon AD (2001). "The brain and somatic integration: insights into the standard biological rationale for equating "brain death" with death". J Med Philos. 26 (5): 457–78. doi:10.1076/jmep.26.5.457.3000. PMID 11588655. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Joffe A (2010). "Are recent defences of the brain death concept adequate?". Bioethics. 24 (2): 47–53. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2008.00709.x. PMID 19210745. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Sade RM (2011). "Brain death, cardiac death, and the dead donor rule". J S C Med Assoc. 107 (4): 146–9. PMC 3372912. PMID 22057747. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ a b Forrow, Dr. Lachlan (February 3, 2014). "When is someone dead?". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  24. ^ "Children's Hospital Oakland, Petitioner's Writ Petition Mcmath-12302013".
  25. ^ a b c DeBolt, David; Hurd, Rick (December 24, 2013). "Jahi McMath: Judge denies petition to keep girl on ventilator past Dec. 30". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  26. ^ a b "Document: Hospital's petition opposing an independent expert, asking to lift the order to keep Jahi McMath on life support". San Jose Mercury News. December 24, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  27. ^ a b Calif. judge: Brain-dead teen can be taken off life support, Associated Press, Dec. 24, 2013
  28. ^ a b "Extension Granted to Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support". NBC Bay Area. December 31, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  29. ^ Romney, Lee (December 30, 2013). "Hospital says conditions must be met for Jahi McMath's transfer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  30. ^ Ford, Dana (December 27, 2013). "Jahi McMath's family seeks to move brain-dead girl to another facility". CNN. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  31. ^ "Jahi McMath Family Cleared to Take Brain-Dead Teen From Hospital". NBC Bay Area. January 4, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  32. ^ Branson, Hailey (January 5, 2014). "Jahi McMath's body released from hospital". latimes.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  33. ^ DeBolt, David; Bender, Kristin J.; Hurd, Rick (January 5, 2014). "Jahi McMath: 13-year-old brain-dead Oakland girl moved by family from hospital". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  34. ^ Payne, Ed; Shoichet, Catherine E.; Hanna, Jason (January 7, 2014). "Brain dead girl Jahi McMath released from California hospital". CNN. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  35. ^ Golgowski, Nina (January 8, 2014). "Lawyer for Jahi McMath's family says brain dead teen is on feeding tube and 'improving'". nydailynews.com.
  36. ^ Gafni, Matthias (27 Februrary 2014). "Jahi McMath's family to get award from Terri Schiavo foundation". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 1 March 2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ "Jahi McMath: Complete text of letter from brain-dead girl's mother". San Jose Mercury News. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Thank you to all of the people who view my daughter as the sweet, innocent, 13 year old girl that she is and not a dead body or a corpse,
  38. ^ Hurd, Rick (January 27, 2014). "Jahi McMath video claims to show her feet and toes move". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
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