Jahi McMath 3: Issued Second Death Certificate and Will Finally Be Allowed to Rest

[Maggie Mae]

If her brain is regenerating, that is TERRIFYING on so many levels. Not only for her, but for all the people we've let go over the decades.  Thankfully, that doesn't appear to be the case. 

[Toothfairy]

Damn. This was 5 years ago. 

[Jellybean]

I agree with all the people who’ve said that they would hate to have any awareness of being trapped in their own body. I have had only one experience like that, which was waking up during anaesthetic. I could hear but I couldn’t open my eyes and I couldn’t move or breathe. It was very scary and I now always ask for a particular sedative beforehand that stops the formation of new memories for a short time, so if it happens again I won’t remember it. 

I’m under the palliative care team and have ‘all my affairs in order’ - normal will, advance decision (UK name for a living will) and lasting power of attorney for my husband for both financial and healthcare things. I think everyone should do that. In fact, I’ll go further and suggest that people do their first ones at high school (with help and advice from teachers/trained counsellors). They feel so far from death and invincible at that age, so I think it would be less difficult than doing it as part of preparing to die. 

Thank you to everyone who plans to donate organs, and everyone who has been involved in donations. My dad died only weeks after being put on the transplant list for a new liver, thanks to an autoimmune disorder. At the time the statistic was that 1 in 5 people waiting for a liver will die without getting one and, unlike kidney dialysis, there’s currently no way to replace liver function. 

It was awful, and I still miss him desperately. Walking down the aisle without him, only 10 months after he died, was hard. I walked the first part of the aisle alone, as an acknowledgement that my dad wasn’t there, and then picked up my four lovely brothers, who walked with me the rest of the way. We also took a buttonhole flower to his grave after the rehearsal (the day before the wedding) and planted the flowers from the tables at the receptions (we had flowering plants in antique tea cups on all the tables) around his grave the day after the wedding. I was a complete mess at the rehearsal - I cried all the way through, even the bit where one of my brothers escorted me down the aisle in a headlock. Husbean’s best man was well stocked with tissues at the ceremony, but I somehow got through without a single tear!

I’m so sad that Jahi’s mother can’t accept the inevitable. No one wants to die young, but sometimes that’s the way it is. I’m already on artificial nutrition and hydration, so I can’t ask them not to give that to me, but I’ve tried to be extremely clear that I don’t want my body to be kept alive once I’ve gone, and I don’t want resuscitation attempts except in the event of an anaphylactic reaction (when it has a relatively good chance of success) - otherwise, please let me go, and let any useful part of my body be donated. 

[Terrie]

They're not saying her brain is regenerating so much as challenging the idea that loss of lower brain function means that higher brain function is totally lost.  The journalist chose to leave out several pieces of information, such as a test that shows if there's a neurological response to sounds (in her case, there isn't), s there's no way for her to respond to commands.

Honestly, the whole article is a shitshow. I'm not going to say that a little white girl (or a skinny girl -- fat bias is wide spread in medicine) wouldn't have had a quicker response to her bleeding, but that has nothing to do with if Jahi is alive NOW.  The nurses act like she's alive and can hear them? Well, gee, I doubt the family would continue to employee any who didn't. 

[Flossie]

I signed an Advanced Directive more than 15 years ago when I was going to have a surgery, but that's in a hospital 300 miles away.  Recently I was in the ER and for the first time in ages a nurse asked me if I had one.  I guess I should update it, even though my beliefs haven't changed.  Should I keep it at home or keep it with a doctor or hospital?

[bananabread]

11 minutes ago, Flossie said:

I signed an Advanced Directive more than 15 years ago when I was going to have a surgery, but that's in a hospital 300 miles away.  Recently I was in the ER and for the first time in ages a nurse asked me if I had one.  I guess I should update it, even though my beliefs haven't changed.  Should I keep it at home or keep it with a doctor or hospital?

Typically after a directive is finalized the lawyer lets you keep the original and sends copies to any doctors/hospitals that you see regularly. A copy also gets sent to the agent(s) you choose if you do a health care power of attorney.

[Briefly]

On 3/13/2018 at 5:42 AM, Jellybean said:

It was awful, and I still miss him desperately. Walking down the aisle without him, only 10 months after he died, was hard. I walked the first part of the aisle alone, as an acknowledgement that my dad wasn’t there, and then picked up my four lovely brothers, who walked with me the rest of the way. We also took a buttonhole flower to his grave after the rehearsal (the day before the wedding) and planted the flowers from the tables at the receptions (we had flowering plants in antique tea cups on all the tables) around his grave the day after the wedding. I was a complete mess at the rehearsal - I cried all the way through, even the bit where one of my brothers escorted me down the aisle in a headlock. Husbean’s best man was well stocked with tissues at the ceremony, but I somehow got through without a single tear!

I’m so sad that Jahi’s mother can’t accept the inevitable. No one wants to die young, but sometimes that’s the way it is. I’m already on artificial nutrition and hydration, so I can’t ask them not to give that to me, but I’ve tried to be extremely clear that I don’t want my body to be kept alive once I’ve gone, and I don’t want resuscitation attempts except in the event of an anaphylactic reaction (when it has a relatively good chance of success) - otherwise, please let me go, and let any useful part of my body be donated. 

I can't imagine how painful that must have been for you. My dad was 42 when I was born and in his 60's when I got married. It was such a special moment with him. I'm so glad your brothers were there for you, I'm sure they wanted to make it as special as they could.

I agree about Jahi's mother not accepting the situation and reality. If I'm gone, I'm gone.

[ColeJo]

I've learned a lot from this case. I think a sane parent (even through their grief) would not choose this for their child. If it turned out she was in PVS (persistent vegetative state), then maybe there is a point to keep her alive. 

I'm pro-life from conception to natural death. What I don't understand about pro-lifers is that they don't consider quality of life in a situation like this. Doing something like this seems selfish (to me).

My grandpa died at 66 from a heart attack. Prior to this he was a smoker (who switched to vaping a few months earlier), and he also had issues with his lungs. He had a stent placed a year prior because of an aneurysm. When he and my grandma decided to end things, it wasn't a shock and it wasn't as devastating as it could have been. If supportive care was continued, he would have had to have a tracheostomy and my grandpa wouldn't have wanted that. I stopped looking at the outcome I wanted and thought about the life he wanted to live.

 

[Tangy Bee]

Well in most of the photos Jahi's body looks remarkable. Her hair, skin, and nails show good nourishment. Somebody is doing a good job at making her look alive. I wonder how long this will go on. I wonder how long her body and organs will hold up.

[LaLele]

I went looking for updates on the CA case and found this interesting opinion piece from JAMA.  It helped answer some questions I had.  

 

[Briefly]

She has now died.  I personally think that she died at the time of the original incident but her body has been kept alive artificially.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/girl-at-center-of-debate-over-brain-death-dies-after-surgery/ar-AAzjxYb?li=BBnb7Kz

 

[Coconut Flan]

At last it's over.  Thank, Rufus.

[Rachel333]

Who did they find to operate on her?

[Buzzard]

3 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

Who did they find to operate on her?

That was my first thought as well.  I’m glad she can finally be put to rest.  She’s been dead for years.

[AliceInFundyland]

We should finally change the thread title.

[persuas1ve]

I hope everyone involved can find peace

[AmazonGrace]

Oh excessive bleeding after surgery again, just like the first time. Did she have some kind of blood clotting disorder?

[adidas]

What a sad relief  

I’m so glad it’s over. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

I don't want to ask an insensitive or dumb question but why was this latest declaration of death accepted but not the first one? What is different? I have been very confused by this case. 

[Toothfairy]

What does her body look like?

[Chewing Gum]

1 hour ago, Toothfairy said:

What does her body look like?

What do you mean by that? She’s dead, what does it matter? And before she was dead-dead and just dead, she was bloated from oedema. Poor thing. I’m so relieved for her sister, they might be able to actually grieve and move on. 

1 hour ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

I don't want to ask an insensitive or dumb question but why was this latest declaration of death accepted but not the first one? What is different? I have been very confused by this case. 

The first time, she was brain dead and on life support. The family objected to being taken off life-support and things went south from there. Now she died from liverfailure, and according to CNN died at home surrounded by her family. 

[Blahblah]

Finally. That poor child didn’t deserve any of this.

[Terrie]

Thank goodness. Maybe her family can finally move forward now.

[Jug Band Baby]

At last, some dignity for Jahi.

[Briefly]

3 hours ago, Jug Band Baby said:

At last, some dignity for Jahi.

Yes, and I do feel for her family.  But she has been dead for years and they should have just let her go.  I know it must have been hard, but that poor girl can now rest.  I hope that her family is able to find some peace now.

I do wonder how they could find a doctor that would operate on her.