A terminally ill infant at the center of a life support fight died Wednesday while still receiving full medical treatment.
Six-month-old Knya Dismuke-Howard had leukemia that spread to her brain. Doctors at Memorial Hermann Children's hospital said continued care would be futile and a hospital ethics committee decided last week to remove her from life support Monday, despite objections from her family.
Knya also had multiple-organ failure and a serious bacterial infection and was on morphine to relieve pain. She was diagnosed with leukemia five months ago.
When the Golden Rule Insurance Company rejected her application for health coverage last year, Peggy Robertson was mystified.
“It made no sense,” said Ms. Robertson, 39, who lives in Centennial, Colo. “I’m in perfect health.”
She was turned down because she had given birth by Cesarean section.
Doctors thought the C-section was necessary; the laboring mother did not. As it happens, she was right, because the baby was born vaginally, and healthy. But the court has upheld the original petition by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (NJDYF) that the mother “abused and neglected” her child. (The court reversed similar charges against the father, B.G., and also said their reason in upholding was not the c-section per se, but rather other factors brought to the bench by authorities.)
Hudson gave birth to a son with an unknown father (she is said to believe his father was the Sun) on September 25, 2004, at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, with thanatophoric dysplasia, a typically fatal form of congenital dwarfism. She was informed that the infant was most likely unable to survive, and should have his breathing tube removed pursuant to Chapter 166 of the Texas Health & Safety Code, the Advance Directives Act. Under this act, a doctor's recommendations to withdraw medical treatment can be followed, after they have been reviewed by the hospital's ethics committee and after 10 days' notice is given to the patient or guardian. Hudson was given 10 days from written notice to find a new facility to accommodate the infant, but was unable to do so. Texas Children's Hospital states that it attempted to contact 40 facilities without finding a willing one.
Legal delays prevented the removal of the breathing tube, which would have occurred on November 28, 2004, but a judge ruled that the removal of the tube did not require Hudson's agreement. On March 15, 2005, Texas Children's Hospital personnel removed the breathing tube. Official reports state that he was sedated, and asphyxiated in under a minute. Hudson disputes this, and told reporters, who were not permitted entrance, "I wanted y'all to see my son for yourself, so you could see he was actually moving around. He was conscious."
The hospital lacked confidence in Ms. Hudson's mental competence; she was quoted by The Dallas Morning News as saying that she didn't seek prenatal care "because I trusted in the Sun", which she claimed fathered the baby. She also made similar comments during an interview with Greta Van Susteren .
Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
Quote by Raine:Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
What kind of programming?
Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
I guess I know a LITTLE....
Quote by BobR:Quote by Raine:
Uh oh... Bad Donut news....
that is very very disappointing...
and now I want a donut.
Of the GOP senators standing for re-election next year, all 12 voted against Sotomayor.
Sens. Robert Bennett of Utah and John McCain of Arizona are facing primary challenges from conservative rivals. Although they have no declared challengers, Sens. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and David Vitter of Louisiana may wish to preemptively discourage any potential primary opponents.
Of the seven Republicans likely to retire between now and 2010, four voted yes — Sens. Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Mel Martínez of Florida and George Voinovich of Ohio. Voting no were retiring Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
Brownback and Hutchison intend to run for governor in their respective states.
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
I guess I know a LITTLE....
:D If I sent you something could you tell me how to modify it? If I even could
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Good morning everyone.
Will try popping in and out today. I thought my vacation was starting today, but I'm actually at work (boss called me on Saturday night), so the vaca gets put off another day.
Just as well, it's HHH out there today, it's more comfortable in here.
Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:
Hey guys - does anyone here now anything about programing?
I guess I know a LITTLE....
:D If I sent you something could you tell me how to modify it? If I even could
sure!
Quote by Raine:Well that is good news for you, right?Quote by trojanrabbit:
Good morning everyone.
Will try popping in and out today. I thought my vacation was starting today, but I'm actually at work (boss called me on Saturday night), so the vaca gets put off another day.
Just as well, it's HHH out there today, it's more comfortable in here.
Quote by wickedpam:
Check out what Chris just Tweeted!
@radioguychrisDebunking health care reform myths! http://bit.ly/QxJlw
less than 20 seconds ago from web
Quote by Scoopster:
So yea.. this weekend my landlord decided it was time the house dog was put down. She had been anemic and not eating regular food for a while, and was now completely blind and having serious problems walking (we were all watching her on Friday night and her hip joints were so far out of whack she could barely stand her back legs up).
His birthday is coming up, so I thought of getting him another dog. Only problem is she was a purebred Tibetan (as was his other five dogs before her - he used to breed 'em) so it's not only gonna be tough to find 'em but also damned expensive.
Quote by Raine:
I set up an appointment to meet with John Lewis regarding Health Care Reform.
You can set up a meeting too!
Quote by Raine:sorry to read this scoop.Quote by Scoopster:
So yea.. this weekend my landlord decided it was time the house dog was put down. She had been anemic and not eating regular food for a while, and was now completely blind and having serious problems walking (we were all watching her on Friday night and her hip joints were so far out of whack she could barely stand her back legs up).
His birthday is coming up, so I thought of getting him another dog. Only problem is she was a purebred Tibetan (as was his other five dogs before her - he used to breed 'em) so it's not only gonna be tough to find 'em but also damned expensive.
Have you tried this site? http://www.petfinder.com/ ?
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by Raine:
I set up an appointment to meet with John Lewis regarding Health Care Reform.
You can set up a meeting too!
I've got an appointment at Bill Nelson's office.
Quote by wickedpam:
Would ZOmbies vote? I'm thinking they would be more apathic
Quote by BobR:
Mala - I sent you an email with some questions...
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:
Would ZOmbies vote? I'm thinking they would be more apathic
They voted in "Homecoming"
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:
Would ZOmbies vote? I'm thinking they would be more apathic
They voted in "Homecoming"
hmmm - that sounds more like a paranormal movie and not a zombie movie
Quote by Mondobubba:
As friend of mine, a multiple type of cancer survivor pointed out about "death panels" why does AARP support HCR? I mean the panels are gonna kill old people, right?
Quote by TriSec:
Hi folks.
I'm no longer unemployed.
They pay more than athena did.
It's close to my ancestral hometown, but 20 miles from here.
'nuff said.
We're heading for the pool....TTFN! :sprint:
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
As friend of mine, a multiple type of cancer survivor pointed out about "death panels" why does AARP support HCR? I mean the panels are gonna kill old people, right?
not unless the crystal in their hands starts flashing
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
As friend of mine, a multiple type of cancer survivor pointed out about "death panels" why does AARP support HCR? I mean the panels are gonna kill old people, right?
not unless the crystal in their hands starts flashing