Absent Hope

"I believe in God and I believe that if he wanted her dead, he would have taken her already. Her heart is beating; her blood is flowing. She moves when I go near her and talk to her. That's not a dead person."
Nailah Winkfield, Oakland California

Jahi's mother, Nailah Winkfield, cried at a court hearing in December 

"It is hard for a mother to receive a death certificate for a child who has a heart beating. It's an awkward situation. We don't think she's dead. She's not passed. Her heart beats. Her kidneys function. She regulates her body temperature. ...She should not be treated as a dead person."
"They are going to care for her, respect her and love her. And they're going to call her Jahi, not 'the body'."
Christopher Dolan, attorney

Jahi McMath, attached to a ventilator was moved by private ambulance, in the care of a critical care team, to an unknown destination. Her family's lawyer preferred that the place where she has been taken to remain a private matter for the family alone. Admitted to Children's Hospital Oakland a month ago the 13-year-old who suffered from sleep apnea underwent three surgical procedures. She "suffered serious complications" resulting in her death, according to the hospital's documents submitted to court.

Jahi McMath suffered cardiac arrest following a routine operation for a sleep disorder (file photo)

 

In those documents, Dr. Heidi Flori, director of the Children's Hospital's pediatric intensive care unit explained movement by a brain-dead person does occur, caused by spinal and muscular reflexes. Those movements are not indicative of life as recognized by the medical-scientific community. No fewer than three doctors declared the young girl brain-dead. Tests indicated no blood flow or electrical activity in her cerebrum or brain stem.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge mediated between the hospital and the family. And late Sunday Jahi was transported from the hospital to that undisclosed location, still attached to a ventilator. Under the agreement reached between the family and the hospital Jahi was released to the Alameda County coroner's office, in effect classifying her as dead. In turn, the coroner's office officially rendered the 'body' to the family, and a death certificate was issued.

The hospital's argument is that Jahi's brain death signifies that she is legally dead, and should be disconnected from the ventilator, mechanically breathing for 'the body'. As far as the medical community was concerned it is unethical to perform medical procedures on a dead person, leading them to refuse to fit her with a feeding tube or a breathing tube to stabilize her during the move. But a court injunction prohibited the removal of the ventilator, until Tuesday.

Doctors unconnected with the hospital and bioethicists reviewing the case have all confirmed that a patient in Jahi's condition meets all the legal criteria for the declaration of death. There is no chance of recovery. The family's lawyer, Mr. Dolan, stated that an out-patient clinic in New York has expressed a willingness to care for Jahi. At that clinic people with traumatic brain injuries are given treatment.

"It's brought out the best in people and the worst in people", stated Mr. Dolan, with respect to the unwanted publicity surrounding this tragic case. "We've had people make threats from around the country. It's sad people act that way, so for Jahi's safety and for those around her, we will not be saying where she went or where she is."