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kaymart
Guest
My heart and prayers go out to the child and the parents. How sad to be given this horrible news and later told they might just stop medical care. At least with trying they could possibliy save the baby. St. Jude please interve for this family. God Bless them
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deb1
Guest
If I am not mistaken the child is neither in a coma or a vegatative state, so how can they deny care? This story worries me. Who will be denied care next? The Elderly? WOuld Stephen Hawkins be allowed to live if these people had their way?
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Marie
Guest
Very worriesome.
The child is sick, not brain dead.
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deb1
Guest
I read the link that you provided. Is there any kind of financial fund set up to help these parents? Maybe they could find help in another state, if they had donations? Stories like these make me feel so helpless and angry.
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1ke
Guest
Please keep in mind that the Church does not require extraordinary treatments disproportionate to the expected outcome.
There have been several detailed reports here in Houston on this child. She is not being denied basic care. The doctors do not feel that continuing the leukemia treatment is going to have a benefit and the child is already beginning to experience organ failure.
What the doctors have decided is entirely within Church teaching. They are not euthanizing the child, they are stopping extraordinary care that is only prolonging life in an already dying child.
The issue here is that the parents disagree and want to continue the agressive medical treatment. Certainly a tough situation.
There have been several detailed reports here in Houston on this child. She is not being denied basic care. The doctors do not feel that continuing the leukemia treatment is going to have a benefit and the child is already beginning to experience organ failure.
What the doctors have decided is entirely within Church teaching. They are not euthanizing the child, they are stopping extraordinary care that is only prolonging life in an already dying child.
The issue here is that the parents disagree and want to continue the agressive medical treatment. Certainly a tough situation.
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Ham1
Guest
Yes, it is true that this is extraordinary care. BUT, this should be the sole decision of the parents. If the parents were to decide to discontinue treatment that would be fine. The problem here is that a āmedical boardā is makling the decision. In the future, this āmedical boardā might be deciding to stop ordinary care. It is a very, very dangerous precedent to overrule the wishes of the parents.
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Ray_Scheel
Guest
~ The system set up in Texas is generally regarded as one of the better ones in the nation. Though there have been attempts to draw parallels, the Schavio debacle could not happen here.
First, the ethics board making the decision ensures its not just one docs decision. Though it takes a recommendation by the attending physician to start the process, the ethics board for a particular case will review the patientās treatment as a group and come to its own determination.
Second, the only care which can be discontinued is that which has been established to be ineffective at what it was designed to do. In this case, the leukemia treatments that were not successful in stopping the spread of the disease are being discontinued, thugh they might be slowing the course of the illness they have not even bruoght it to a standstill much less made progress towards shrinking the affected portion. HOwever, care which is still doing its job (e.g. nutrition and hydration) would be continued so long as the patient accepted it (and the purpose of nutrition nad hydration is to keep a patient fed and watered, not to heal leukemia or brain damage)
Third, if the family wishes to continue a type care determined to be futile, the hospital making that dertermination is obliged to assist the family in finding an alternative treatment center, with both a minimum statutory delay and an ability for the courts to provide further delays that the courts have thus far been willing to give when pressed. The parents are welcome to find another facility to provide that extraordinary level of care, the problem is that no other doctors reviewing the case can think of anything left to try. Bed space is not unlimited, specialists only have so much time and other patients waiting that are responding to treatment. When both a top tier cancer center and a top tier childrenās research hospital say there is nothing left to try they have no doubt already run through the experimental treatments as best they can.
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Marie
Guest
In that caseā¦Let us Pray. It is heartbreaking to lose a child. A nightmare when you still have hope and the medical community saysā¦tough! Get over it, we are not going to help anymore.
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1ke
Guest
I think this is a gross mischaracterization and unfair to the doctors and staff at the hospital.the medical community saysā¦tough! Get over it, we are not going to help anymore.
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Lisa4Catholics
Guest
Marie said:
Speaking of Saint Jude
Marie! In memphis we have St.Jude Childrens hospital!!! They do not charge for their service!Is there any way to get in touch with this family?Do they have e-mail?I can try to get an e-mail for the hospital here and we can all e-mail them but we will need a way to contact the parents,or have a way for St. Jude to.
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Marie
Guest
Actually, I was thinking of that very idea. St Judes Rocks! They saved my nieces life and I support them 100%.Speaking of Saint Jude
But I donāt know how to go about emailing anyone involved.
Ideas anyone?
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Ray_Scheel
Guest
Baby on life support dies
chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3167131
The lead-in from the front page:
chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3167131
The lead-in from the front page:
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