This article was about a 13-year-old girl, by the name of Jahi McMath, who has been declared legally brain dead, three days after undergoing a tonsillectomy on December 9th. The parents of Jahi have hope that their daughter will recover, despite what the medical professionals have determined. The hospital wanted to take Jahi off of the ventilator once they were confident in their findings. A judge ruled that the girl be kept on life support for another week in order to give the family time to file a petition.
The question is, when is it the appropriate time to take a brain-damaged human off of the machine that keeps their body physically alive? I believe that after medical professionals have informed the family of their loved one's condition, time should be given for them to come to terms with the tragic news. In the McMath's family's situation, hope can be good to a certain extent. They believe that their daughter will recover even after multiple neurological professionals have determined the opposite. I think that the family needs to accept the hard facts and let their daughter rest peacefully, instead of being hooked up to machines in the ghost of her old body.
I respect that Jahi's family is willing to do anything to fight for their daughter's life. I can't help but think that they aren't fully educated on what it means for Jahi to be "brain dead". They see her beating heart and her involuntary muscle spasms as a sign of life rather than a result of the machine that is keeping her alive. They don't seem to understand that she is no longer mentally in this body that they see as their daughter. Once they accept that although she is physically with them, she is not mentally there, then I think that they will finally let Jahi rest in peace.
It is obviously easier to come to these conclusions when it is not personally, one of our own loved ones. Having a strong hope in these types on situations is commonly seen. I'd like to believe that families come to the right conclusion on their own, rather than a judge having to declare what is to be done. This situation is tough because it is hard to determine who should have the final say, a judge or the legal guardians of, in this case, a 13-year-old girl. It is especially hard coming from an outside perspective and not having all of the details of the case.
In the end, I believe that the family of Jahi McMath should determine the duration of their daughters life. However, I also believe that they should be more educated on the medical termination of Jahi's condition. I would just have to hope that they are not selfish in making the final decision for their daughter.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-dead-mom-gives-birth-to-twins-while-on-life-support/
ReplyDeleteThis link is about a brain dead mother who still delivered twins. While I understand that Jahi's family couldn't cope with what I believe they know as the end, it's obvious from stories like the one I posted that when you're gone, you're gone. I think a lot of people don't realize exactly what Mikaelah stated, that it's the machine keeping the body alive, even though the soul is no longer present. This link shows that brain dead patients being kept on life support truly do have to be a "very exceptional scenario," you can't hold on to what isn't there all the time.
I completely agree with Destiny! My uncle had brain damage and my family went through a very similar problem earlier this year. My mom and her siblings could not decide whether to take my uncle off the ventilator or not because they still had hope despite what the doctors and surgeons said. I learned that people who have brain damage and are severely sick have everything against them. It makes it so much more difficult for them to recover because their disabilities put them a huge disadvantage. So in Jahi and my uncle’s case they were at the point of no return because it was almost impossible for them to recover. Like Destiny and the article mentioned their souls are no longer present because the machine was keeping him alive. It is better to let the family member rest in piece instead of keeping them alive and suffering because they are just physically present.
Delete"The next day on March 1, Bolden collapsed while leaving a Grand Rapids building with her 3-year-old son and boyfriend. Her family would never speak to her again." Her parents won't speak to her because she collapsed? Wow
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this post. I feel for the parents of the 13 year old girl who is brain dead. It must be very hard to accept the fact that she is not who she was and she will never be that girl again. I also believe that it will be easier for the parents to give the doctors the go ahead to release their daughter from the machine and let her pass than it would be to have someone else to decide for them. By making their own decision this should give them the opportunity to have closure and to have the knowledge that they did what had to be done. to This is a tragic thing that many people have had to deal with around the world. It is never easier for any family and I just hope that the parents can make the right decision rather than putting a third party at the forefront of this dilemma.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this article I thought about two aspects. I agree that the parents of the baby should have the full rights to deciding the outcome of their brain-dead child. But I also tried to find a reason to why you wouldn’t allow them to do that. One thing I was thinking is that, what if the emotional situation for the parents, most likely influences their thinking. Lets say that a baby is brain-dead and the parents look at the baby as their suffering child. Some might pull the plug even though the doctors might say that the baby feels no pain and has a slight chance at coming back. I just wanted to throw that out there. I agree with what you, and the majority of the people here are posting about, I jut tried to put my head into a situation that would give that decision some reasoning.
Deletehttp://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24956808/pregnant-brain-dead-womans-husband-sues-hospital
ReplyDelete^Here is a similar article but the family actually feels the complete opposite of Jahi's family. In this article, the husband wants the hospital to pull the plug because his wife made it clear if she ever had to be supported artificially to live, she did not want that. However, the hospital won't pull the plug because the wife is pregnant. The husband is angry because he knows his wife is not alive and he doesn't want to see her like that. I wish Jahi's family could view their situation similarly, because their daughter is legally dead and only her body is living, but only because of the machines helping. I'm sure Jahi would not want to be kept like this, hooked up to machines, not really living. Also, once they pull the plug, the hospital can make room for a new patient that actually has a chance to survive. That is something the family should definitely think about.
What is her family waiting for? Like, I understand that that’s your daughter and it’s hard to let her go, but still. I have never been in this situation so for me to say just pull the plug is easier because I don’t know what that would feel like being in that position, but regardless of that I would want what would be better for my family member. If doctors are telling you that there is no hope left I don’t know what would be motivating you to keep her alive. Whats done is done; there is nothing that her family or the doctors can do to save her. It must be rough to be in this type of predicament but it would be better for the family to allow themselves a few more days with their daughter, and allow her to be free from the suffering and allow her to be free from this state that she’s in now.
ReplyDeleteI feel for the parents in this situation because this is one of the toughest decisions a family has to face. The parents should have the right to say whether or not to pull the plug not the judge or the doctor because it is not their daughter. The parents first need to completely understand her condition and realize that the right thing to do is to the pull the plug. Jahi is brain dead and there is not much to do to save her. Since it is their decision to make it is on their time, but they should wait no longer than another week or two to make the decision. I could not possibly understand the emotions involved in this decision but I believe that she will be in a better place if they pull the plug. Until then, Jahi is a lifeless body living off of a machine.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the idea of taking one off of life support must be tragic but I also believe that keeping Jahi McMath alive and on life support is in no way the life anyone wants to live. I understand that the idea of keeping her alive is whats keeping them from making their final decision but whether they take her off life support today or in a week, it will not change anything. The parents are aware that she is brain dead but maybe the doctors could have made it more clear about what this means. I think that it is heart warming that the parents have hope but if their daughter was going to recover, she would have already done so after doctors experiments. I know being in this situation and making the decision is a lot more difficult than me sitting here reading an article and putting my opinion in but the parents need to think about their child first and not their emotional ties.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this comment, although Jahi McMath is still alive she is not living a conscious life and her life is in no way "enjoyable". I believe that the parents should be given time to cope with the matter and come to terms, but the more time that they take to pull the plug means the more time that they have to know that only that machine is keeping her alive and she has little to no chance of recovering. I couldn't imagine the pain that this family is going through, but I feel like I would be more at ease if I let go of my emotional ties early on. I also completely agree with Nicholas H when he says that "Jahi is a lifeless body living off of a machine" because up until the parents decide to pull the plug Jahi will just be a body with no thought or being.
DeleteI heard this story on the news last week. I really think the parents of this child need to let her go now. Although the family can't see it, but the child is suffering and is not living a good life being brain dead. There are many people who can't tell the difference between vegetative and coma states. This poor child seems to be leaning more towards the vegetative state right now. There are many reasons why they should let her go as well as keeping her alive on the machines. Everyone as well as the parents are hoping for improvements in her health and now that this story is sparking a lot of questions and talk, doctors might possibly come together and figure out a way for this child or future cases such as this. I also think a judge should not be given authority over whether or not someone's child can live or die. Who is he/she to decide? It should be the parents and family who choose her fate.
ReplyDeleteI think it is easy to see that the parents of the girl are trying to hold on to something that isn't there but only from the outside of the situation. It would be a completely different view if it was a family member of your own. If it was my daughter I would be doing the same thing those parents are doing. In my opinion if the family is willing to pay for the hospital's services for the daughter then the hospital should do what they want regardless of what the experts have said about her chances of living. Any outside person cannot possibly have empathy for the family unless they have personally been in that situation previously. Doctors, nurses, judge or anyone else in the involved should not have the right to force decisions on families that decide the fate of a family member regardless of what their expertise shows.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with the article. I am sorry to hear this story because no one wants to see their child laying on their death bed hooked up to a machine with zero brain activity. I could never imagine going through something like this especially if its your own child. The parents however have been informed of their child's condition and have been explained to that there is no chance that she will ever come alive again. Not surprisingly the parents are in denial because they see hope even though there is none which saddens me. I agree that the parents need to eventually let go but I think it is unfair that a judge is giving them a time limit. A family needs time to let it him them and realize that she is never coming back which is totally understandable. No body should have the right to cut someone off life support besides the person family members.
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ReplyDeleteJahi's situation is a highly tragic one. Her parents are possibly causing themselves even more pain by keeping her alive. What Jahi may want for her parents is for them to allow her to rest in peace. In certain cases, it is much better to allow one to stop their suffering. As stated in the blog, after they allow Jahi to pass, they can allow her to pass on and live on mentally, and in their hearts forever. By keeping her alive, they are quite literally torturing themselves with false hopes of helping their daughter. This situation is not only painful, but also unnecessary. It harms both the daughter by not giving her what she deserves, but it also harms the parents by giving them false hope and promises. Jahi's medical health is also of huge concern, since her cognitive deterioration has become so severe, She deserves better than staying alive and being forced into a slow death.
ReplyDeleteI could not even start to imagine how it feels to lose a child, the pain and anger that must be so much that one person to be able to take is crazy. the mere fact that the family is not yet willing to let their daughter go and want to find a way to save her is great to hear. I, myself would try to do the same but there does come a point where there is nothing humanly possible that can be done. The medical miracles that can be done in today's age is something that people just ten years ago could never imagine but again, there are still limits to what can be done. We as humans, have not found a way to bring brain dead victims back from this sad state. I understand the feeling that the family does not want to let their daughter go but there is so much that they can do before they realize there is nothing they can do. This is a very powerful article that can bring even the hardest individuals to tears but it just a reminder that none of us are impervious to injury or illness.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very complicated issue when regarding when to “pull the plug.” I am all for the legal guardians deciding when to pull the plug. If this were my dad in this situation, I would try any way possible to try and keep him alive. If you think about somebody who is brain dead; they can still see and probably somewhat comprehend that it is a loved one starring at them. Even the littlest things can give signs to see that a loved one is saying goodbye to them. If this were my dad and he was brain dead, I would go and see him for a day just to be with him and show him that I loved him and after that would be the right time to let him go knowing that I was the last person to look into his eyes and showed him that I loved him. If families never give up people can recover from these kinds of things. Never give up and have love and faith.
ReplyDeleteLosing a child, I can only imagine, must be one of the hardest things to endure on this Earth. They're your own flesh and blood and having that taken away from you forever is like losing a chunk of yourself for the rest of your life. Death is a tough thing to handle for many of us, but we must also understand that it is ultimately the fate of every single one of us. If this family truly does believe in God's will they can bring this girl back from the seemingly insurmountable odds, then they should also think about the other perspectives they should consider. Do you really want to hold your loved one back from being carried on to the peace and serenity of the other side? By keeping them hooked up and unresponsive they're only delaying that transition which is unfair to the child that may be ready to go (in whatever spiritual sense you'd like to believe). It's only a burden to everyone involved in this situation by failing to finally put this girl to rest. I think the decision should ultimately be left up to the family, but this family needs to realize that they may be following false hope. It seems that the best thing for everybody would be to accept the tragic loss because if you do believe in a God, then you know everything happens for a reason.
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