Family of Jahi McMath wins battle to keep her alive
The family of a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead has successfully won a battle to keep the child on life support. Jahi McMath suffered from cardiac arrest during a routine tonsillectomy. She never regained consciousness.
The child’s family has been fighting to keep her on life support, as doctors at Children’s Memorial Oakland say that she is no longer alive. The ruling came just an hour before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline set by a judge to remove McMath from life support.
The family already had won a restraining order preventing doctors from removing the girl from a ventilator keeping her alive, but Grillo revoked her order Tuesday after hearing testimony from an independent physician who said McMath met “all criteria for brain death,” according to NBC Bay Area.
Grillo said in that ruling that Children’s Hospital could remove Jahi from life support unless the family filed a formal appeal, which they did on Monday.
McMath’s family has insisted that she is alive, regardless of doctors’ opinions that her condition is irreversible. Her family has tried to move her to two other facilities, but doctors at both institutions refused to treat her since she had been declared brain dead.
But according to McMath’s uncle, an unidentified hospital in New York has agreed to accept the child for treatment. The family has until Jan. 7 to keep the child on life support.
We will keep you updated on the developments of this story.
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