OAKLAND TEEN DECLARED BRAIN DEAD AFTER TONSIL SURGERY, MAY "NEVER COME HOME AGAIN" (5009 hits)
A family is struggling with the painful decision of whether or not to take their daughter off life support after the young teen was left brain dead following routine tonsil surgery. To make matters worse, the family said they feel that the hospital is pressing them for an answer.
According to KGO-TV, 13-year-old Jahi McMath went into Oakland Children's Hospital in Oakland, Calif., last Monday for a routine tonsil and adenoid removal. The girl suffered from a disorder called sleep apnea, a chronic condition in which a person’s breathing pauses or becomes shallow while she sleeps. Because sleep apnea disrupts normal sleep patterns, causing the person to move out of deep sleep and into light sleep, the condition is the leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness.
The surgery was supposed to be a relatively standard procedure. McMath should have been out of the hospital the following day. But complications post-surgery have left the 13-year-old Oakland girl brain dead.
“[They] told me my daughter would be home on Tuesday and now you tell me she’ll never come home again!” McMath’s mother, Nailah Winkfieldsaid, told News One.
According to reports, after her surgery, McMath began bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth. She even began spitting up large blood clots. The family said hospital staff gave them a cup and asked them to catch the clots so they could be measured. Shortly afterwards, the teen went into cardiac arrest. Hospital personnel were able to revive her, but the damage was already done.
According to the Oakland Tribune, McMath spent Tuesday on a ventilator. By 2 a.m. Wednesday, McMath’s brain had begun to swell. Doctors declared the teen legally brain-dead by Thursday.
“I was the last one to see Jahi,” Sandra Chatman, the girl’s grandmother, told reporters. “I said, ‘Somebody help my baby please!’ And they came in and starting working on her. The next thing I know, the doctor said, ‘Oh no, she doesn’t have a heart rate anymore.’”
The family said they feel as though the hospital is rushing them to make a decision about whether to take their daughter off life support.
"They just have a social worker follow me around all day long asking me, 'do you have any other family that needs to see her?' like trying to put a rush on it," McMath’s mother told KGO-TV.
But the family isn’t budging. Instead, they’ve said that they will keep McMath on life support, even if it means spending the holiday at the hospital, until they have answers.
“As long as she has a pulse, we want her on life support,” Omari Sealey, Jahi McMath’s uncle, told the Oakland Tribune. “We want her to come home for Christmas. We want to give her presents. We want a chance for a Christmas miracle.”
According to News One, Melinda Kriegel, a representative of the hospital, denies that the hospital neglected McMath. She said the hospital will investigate what went wrong with McMath’s tonsil surgery.
"We're very sad about this outcome, about what's happened to her, but at this point I have no information on the details of the surgery,” Kriegel said in a statement. “We will certainly investigate what happened. In any surgery there are risks and there can be unexpected, unanticipated complications."
That's right, as long as she has a pulse they should keep her on life support. It is highly unusual for someone to become brain dead after a minor procedure. How do you know that she can't survive if they pressure you for decisions?
Monday, December 16th 2013 at 11:39PM
Helen Lofton
I went to school with a girl who had a tonsillectomy. She faced hemorrahage and was bleeding for about 30 minutes after the surgery, and she had to have a blood transfusion. She had a complete physical before the surgery and was healthy and had no history of medical problems, so the doctors and her family didn't understand what happened. Luckily she survived the operation.
I cant imagine having to try to save your loved ones life in the hospital and the medical staff is nowhere to be found. That's heartbreaking. I hope she makes a speedy recovery. But what I don't understand is why didn't they do the laser treatment? That seems to be the preferred method these days. It is less invasive, with a quicker recovery time.
Wednesday, December 18th 2013 at 5:53PM
Siebra Muhammad
THANK YO9U LOV, BECAUSE OUR LOCALNEWS FROM SACRAMENTO STILLHAS NOT COVERED THIS STORY.(SMILE)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
AS FOR ME, IN ORDER TO HAVE THESE PEOPLELIKE THIS SOCIAL WORKER TO GET MORE RESPECT FOR GREIVING FAMILYS LIKE THIS, SHE AND CHLD PROTECTION SHE IS SUPPOSE TOBE REPRESENTING SHOULD BE SUED TO THE LEGLLIMITS THE LAW ALLOWS FOR PAIN AND SURRERINGS TRYING OT GET THESE GREIVING PARENTS TO TURN THEIR CHILD INTO A ORGAN HARVESTING FEAST!!! (N...U...P)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
