Update!! Court Again Blocks hospital from disconnecting 13 Year Old Black Child from life support (876 hits)
(CNN) -- They thought the tonsil surgery would help her. She feared she'd never wake up. Now, a 13-year-old girl once known for smiling, giggling and dropping off her sister every day at kindergarten lies motionless in a California hospital bed, hooked up to machines that doctors say are the only thing keeping her heart beating. There have been days of prayers and protests for Jahi McMath. There was a fierce court battle as a devastated family fought to keep her on life support and doctors argued she had already died. The case drew national attention and fueled debate.
Doctors and a judge have declared her brain dead and said there's no chance Jahi will come back to life. A deadline loomed Monday as a judge had said the hospital could disconnect the machines after 5 p.m. (8 p.m. ET). But shortly before Jahi could have been cut off, that same judge extended his order to 5 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) on January 7.
The girl's family told reporters it had located a facility in New York willing to take Jahi. The Oakland hospital, however, will not allow them to move her, according to the girl's uncle, Omari Sealey. Attorneys for the family are filing a new complaint in federal court requesting a temporary restraining order and an injunction to prevent the hospital from disconnecting Jahi from life support, he said. They also are filing an appeal with California appellate courts. It's unclear what will happen next. But one thing is certain, an official told reporters on Monday. "There are no winners in this very tragic case," Children's Hospital Oakland spokesman Sam Singer said.
Bleeding, cardiac arrest and brain death
Family members say the 8th grader was alert and talking after doctors removed her tonsils, adenoids and extra sinus tissue in a surgery earlier this month. Doctors had recommended the surgery to treat pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, a condition which made her stop breathing in her sleep and caused other medical problems. Before the surgery, Jahi said she was worried that she would never wake up, according to her uncle. She seemed fine after the surgery, but asked for a Popsicle because her throat hurt.
It wasn't long before something went terribly wrong.
In the intensive care unit, the girl began bleeding profusely -- an image her mother told CNN would be forever seared in her mind. According to family members, Jahi went into cardiac arrest. Days later, she was declared brain dead. Hospital officials have said privacy laws prevent them from discussing details of the case. In court documents and public comments, they've maintained that there's no doubt that McMath is brain dead, describing the condition as irreversible. An independent doctor and a judge supported that conclusion last week. "No amount of prayer, no amount of hope, no amount of any type of medical procedure will bring her back," Singer said Monday. "The medical situation here in this case is that Jahi McMath died several weeks ago."
