Judge Rules Baby Can Be Removed From Life Support

[Kadie]

Judge Rules Baby Can Be Removed From Life Support
Mother's Attorney To File Emergency Appeal

POSTED: 2:15 pm PST February 16, 2005
UPDATED: 4:31 pm PST February 16, 2005

HOUSTON -- A probate court judge ruled Wednesday that a baby diagnosed with an incurable and fatal genetic deformity can be removed from life support against the mother's wishes, Local 2 reported.

Wanda Hudson obtained temporary restraining orders preventing Texas Children's Hospital from taking her nearly 6-month-old baby, Sun, off life support.

After a hearing last week, Hudson and her attorney had one week to find another facility to take the baby, but were not able to.

Hudson pleaded with the judge to not take Sun off life support. Her attorney asked the judge to recuse himself, which was denied. The attorney also asked the judge to hold off on his decision until they had a chance to take the case to an appeals court. That motion was also denied.

more...
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4205665/detail.html




Judge OKs Taking Infant Off Life Support
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

(02-16) 16:58 PST HOUSTON, (AP) --

An infant with an often-lethal skeletal disorder can be removed from life support against his mother's wishes, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Probate Court Judge William C. McCulloch's decision lifted a restraining order that kept Wanda Hudson's 4-month-old son, Sun, on life support.

Texas Children's Hospital officials have said no treatment can save the infant, and they wanted to remove him from life support. Hudson believes her son will recover and had fought to keep him on the ventilator he has used since birth.

The dispute centers around the legal standard over hospital care in Texas. Under state law, a hospital must continue care if there is a reasonable probability that another hospital will admit the patient.


more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/02/16/national/a141612S52.DTL

[Mojorabbit]

1. This makes no sense

Why could they not have given the mother more time to find a place to care for her baby?

[Horse with no Name]

23. Unfortunately it doesn't matter how much time

they gave her, there isn't a hospital around that will accept this baby under these circumstances.

[hippiechick]

2. Against the mother's wishes ?

So, here goes the state gubmint again - this time in the form of the hospital - deciding it knows better than the person most closely involved.

I am NOT saying I agree or disagree - I don't have enough information on the 'disease' to make that call ... but I am so confused about where these 'experts' get off over ruling personal/ family privacy on medical matters.

[Pithlet]

4. I do think there are instances where that is right.

I don't know enough about this case, though. Some hospitals actually have policies where if a person is brain dead, they can disconnect against the family's wishes, and I understand why they do that. But, this doesn't seem to be a case like that. The article doesn't give enough information for me to make a personal judgment.

[msanthrope]

16. Click on the link, and read about the mother's

behavior in court.

I think that's why the court is making the decisions.

[Shakespeare]

30. One of my closest friends specializes in medical ethics....

...and serves on a couple of hospitals' ethics committees that decide these kinds of issues. She is a doctor and an attorney. Having seen first hand what goes into reaching a decision like this, I can assure you it's not at all easy for anyone involved, and is about as far from government meddling as one can imagine. These are tough, tough issues.

[Pithlet]

3. That is sad.

I wonder why she hasn't seen him in over a month? Does she live too far away from the hospital? What a heartbreaking story.

[sandnsea]

5. Sick since birth

So the judge can decide to let the child die after its born, but the mother can't decide to have an abortion if she finds out the same child has the same defects before its born. This is just insanity. It should be this mother's decision, before or after birth.

[Erika]

7. The baby is in extreme pain

according to the article I read a week ago. The judge only allowed a short time period for additional input because of the pain factor.

Then comes the cold hard reality. Who is going to pay the medical bills. Remember, we don't have universal care here.

[sandnsea]

10. It's the mother's decision

If a mother can't make the choice to terminate before birth, the judge sure as hell shouldn't be allowed to make the choice after birth. And if it's about medical bills, that's all the more reason to point out what hypocrites these people are. It is in Texas after all.

[Horse with no Name]

6. Slippery slope

is what this is.
How many other children with diseases will this happen to when it is determined that their expenses will be more than their insurance carrier want to invest? Who is gonna draw the line? Will it be kids with genetic disorders? Metabolic disorders? Who will sit in judgment and be the one to decide who will live and who will die.
While I agree that it is sometimes in the best interests of the child to "pull the plug", waiting for a mother to come to terms with the inevibility with counseling and gentleness should always precede court action.
I am familiar with a case in Dallas where a 2 year old child had drowned and had been pronounced brain dead at Childrens Medical Center. They claimed that he was only being kept alive via mechanical means and if he recovered from the coma, would be left in a constant vegetative state. The Doctor approached the mother and told them they wanted to pull the plug. The mother refused. They brought the hospital ethics committee in. She still refused.
Almost 3 weeks post drowning, the boy woke up. Today, he is an 11 year old active child without any type of brain damage. His mother says that they only deficit that he has is that he cannot write cursive but they monitor him annually at CMC for deficits.
Funny thing about kids. I don't believe we should treat their situations as we do adults and I think the judge overstepped his bounds here. I will surely say my prayers for the mother.

[moobu2]

15. Whats the names of the people involved in your story? you have a link?

There are a lot of false stories out there like this spread by right to life creeps, I was just curious if this is one of those..

[Horse with no Name]

21. I assure you its 100% true

I've seen the child and I've met the mother. It has never been a news story to my knowledge.
This is first hand knowledge as a nurse--there is no link.
I can't divulge any further info because of confidentiality laws. Sorry.

[mudderfudder77]

28. That makes it convinient...

[Horse with no Name]

46. Of course

You are entitled to whatever you want to think. I didn't post my thoughts as anything other than something I was familiar with..never said there was a newslink, never said there was a big story in the news, never claimed lawsuits, etc.
I suppose I could tell you to research the Texarkana Gazette from the last weekend of May-first week of June 1995 and find the story with the little 2 year old boy who was trapped under a boat for two hours and was airlifted to Dallas to find your story and your names that you crave. However, since it never was anymore newsworthy than the actual drowning of the boy, your trail would end there unless you decided to telephone his parents.
If you decide to do that much investigative work, I will give you the clue that they still live in the vicinity but not in Texarkana should you track the name in the newspaper and wish to call to verify.
Personally, I was just sharing an anecdotal story.
Funny thing about working and interracting in the real world though, things happen and there isn't always a readily available newslink to prove it. It doesn't make it any less true.
However, some people keep their lives private and while this would have been excellent fodder for someone trying to further their cause which maybe that is your goal, these people just chose to maintain their privacy and cherish the fact that their son lived despite insurmountable odds and didn't call the press or make a big deal about it. Funny thing, they didn't even hold a grudge against the Doctors and the hospital. They still use the same neurologist that told them to pull the plug.
Obviously you have never worked in this type of environment and perhaps you are jaded and cynical--who knows.
I know that working as a nurse the past 15 or so years, I have witnessed many miracles, happenings that couldn't be attributed to science. I am sure that every single nurse out there could tell you his or her stories and you would probably not believe them either. They are woven into the fabric of my belief system and there aren't any newslinks to them either and again, it doesn't make them any less true.
However, I'm not a jaded cynic either so I suppose it is difficult for me to understand your perspective.

[kath]

17. Please give a link to this story.

[radwriter0555]

8. The woman has clearly lost her mind over this whole thing, and is in need

of psychiatric care. How horrible for everyone.

[Dogmudgeon]

9. Where are the Terri Sciavo Groupies?

I think they're still trying to get mileage out of that woman who recently emerged from a long-time coma.

The tough cases like this one don't interest them. There's one thing more important than the Right To Life for them -- it's the Golden Rule.

You know, "Whoever has the Gold gets to make the Rules."

--p!

[Erika]

12. Terri's parents could have cared less until the $ from pro life

started rolling in. As the court knows, their visits were rare until they decided to exploit Terri's condition and make her a poster child for the causes of the right wing.

Liberate Terri, give her dignity in her death. Please everyone, sit down and right out instructions that you don't wish to remain a vegetable under these circumstances. Put it in a safe place. Notify your relatives.

[KamaAina]

41. Not to mention that Jeb! could have cared less

if he'd actually been interested in Terri's life, rather than grandstanding for the right-to-life crowd, he would have had the state throw up roadblocks to removing Terri's feeding tube -- maybe even get his brother to have Michael's tax returns audited! -- rather than ramming through a bad law that he knew (or should have known) would be overturned by the "liberal, activist" courts.

[Erika]

11. There are 45 Million uninsured Americans

Who pays their bill if they have severe medical problems?

We need to start facing reality in this country.

[CBGLuthier]

13. I did a little research

Sad as it is, this disease is 100% fatal. Prolonging a life like that is just not right;


By definition, this malformation is uniformly lethal before or shortly after birth. The main cause for this is lung hypoplasia (due to the small thorax) which lead to immediate postnatal asphyxia

[moobu2]

14. The mother is extremely delusional and selfish beyond imagination

The baby is suffering horrible excruciating pain and cant be treated or cured. How could anyone defend her selfish desire to torture this baby? I'll never understand that..

[iamjoy]

19. Delusional, Perhaps, Not Selfish

and she is in denial.

It is the maternal instinct to want to fight for your child, give your child every chance. But something is wrong if she can't face reality and realize there is no chance.

[LisaL]

43. I suspect she couldn't face reality long before this child was born.

Most likely this woman is seriously mentally ill, IMO.

[LisaL]

44. She thinks he will live as long as the sun lives. She also think

his father was the sun. I don't thinkt this woman is selfish, I think she is nuts. I doubt she thinks this child is suffering.

[KissMeKate]

18. what about the terri shiavo supporters? wheres the outrage?

ah I guess if its a black baby its not really alive AFTER its born.

Where is the outrage about withdrawing life support from this LIVING human being?

[Erika]

20. Who cares what color the baby is?

I don't even know or care. The judge said the hospital said the baby was in extreme pain. I can't imagine allowing a little one to be in pain with no hope.

[KissMeKate]

35. so some lives are worth living and some arent? Terri Shciavo-BRAIN DEAD

and now you are the arbiter of who lives and who dies?

I thought pro life was pro life- are you pro life, or are you pro "makling the decision as to who lives and dies"?


Have you any idea how painful it is to have muscle contractures of the kind Terri Schiavo clearly developed? Or is some pain ok to live with, but other pain makes it ok to withdraw life support?

All I want is a little fucking consistancy from those who bleat aboput being "pro life".

[napi21]

22. The judge did the right thing.

Did you read the entire thing. Incureable and usually lethal!

I don't believe in life support without very positive % of a good life.

I already have a living will stating that same thing!

I understand this mother not wanting to let go of her baby, but someone has to explain reality to her. Maybe that's what the judge did.

[lavenderdiva]

24. here is a link to the most recent, and quite comprehensive article

in the Houston Chronicle about this case: Feb 16, 10:49pm

http://www.chron.com/CDA/umstory.mpl/metropolitan/3043932

snip: 'In a last-minute legal maneuver Wednesday, the lawyer representing the baby's mother filed an appeal in the 1st Court of Appeals. The court suspended Judge William C. McCulloch's ruling made earlier in the day and reinstated a temporary restraining order that prevents Texas Children's Hospital from shutting off the ventilator keeping the infant alive. The case will be heard by Chief Justice Sherry Radack and Justices Laura Carter Higley and Jane Bland at 11 a.m. Tuesday — three days shy of the baby's five-month birthday. The rapid turnaround indicates the appellate court doesn't want to prolong the conflict between the hospital, which believes continuing treatment is inhumane, and the infant's mother, Wanda Hudson, who disputes the doctors' diagnosis.'...

snip: 'Hudson said she spent three days in a psychiatric hospital after the delivery because doctors at St. Luke's were alarmed about statements she was making about her baby being the human embodiment of the sun... During the three hearings to determine her baby's fate, Hudson interrupted the proceedings with rambling outbursts. She talked about how she communicates telepathically with her son, but also about the painful experience of fighting for his life... "I'm going through hell right now," she said. When she first laid eyes on her baby, she said, she saw he had a large head, small ears and small arms and legs, but "I looked beyond that" and convinced herself that he would grow.
In an interview after the hearing, Hudson refused to consider questions about her baby's impending death, saying she didn't believe in death and dying.'

[estherc]

38. mom is incompetent to make decisions.

The mother is completely out of touch with reality and incapable of making decisions for this baby. Judging from that article she seems to be psychotic. I think there needs to be a competency hearing for the mom and perhaps custody needs to be given to someone capable of making decisions for the child.

Health care workers should not be put in a situation where they are forced to inflict painful futile treatments on a helpless infant.

[lavenderdiva]

39. I live here in Houston, so this case has been covered pretty much

on local news with video, etc. If you see her speaking her tone, etc make her sound normal, but when you listen to WHAT she is saying, she sounds nuts. When this story first broke, she talked about how she believed that her son was the SUN brought to life by her. She doesn't believe there is such a thing as death. Hmmm.... Unfortunately, her baby seems to be suffering terribly, and she doesn't appear able to handle it. The hospital is paying for her attorneys. You make a good point about the competency hearing for the mother, and I don't know why that hasn't taken place, especially since she was in a psychiatric hospital for 3 days. I totally agree that someone else needs to be making decisions for the best welfare of the child. Perhaps that is what the judge was attempting to do, sort of, by making the ruling he did. We'll see what happens...

[Horse with no Name]

47. I'm very surprised that the judge has not appointed

a guardian ad litem for this child to watch out for his best interests since the mother obviously seems to nbe mentally incompetent.
While MY belief system feels that the baby's suffering should end, it is not MY choice to be able to determine when this might be.
I assure you this baby is not writhing in agony--they have medications that they give babies and young children while they are intubated for pain control--they generally have them on a Fentanyl or Diprivan drip in a drug induced coma.
I have no doubt whatsoever if they didn't give him medication he would be in pain, but I don't believe he is in a constant state of pain--in the sickest of children I have never ever seen that, not while in intensive care on a vent.
That is very misleading.
Texas Children's is one of the best children's hospitals in the country and I truly don't believe their motives are unpure.
As far as the mother...she sounds like she flipped out.
I feel that social services should be finding out why she hasn't been at the hospital and try to fix that. Alot of times, single mothers don't have an adequate support system in place and nobody to watch other children or perhaps no way to get to the hospital. If it were my child, I'd be there 24/7 regardless of the reason, but again, it's not for me to judge her by my standards.
Perhaps a good 10-12 hours a day at the hospital will convince her to do the right thing and would be a stark reality check.
Again, while I feel it is in this baby's best interests to let him go peacefully...I don't believe it's my decision and I don't believe it's the judge's decision or the hospital's decision. I think it is the mother's decision or if she is deemed by a court to be mentally unfit, then a court appointed guardian who is serving the best interests of the child should make the decision.

[AnneD]

48. Thanks Lavender...

I am an RN here in Houston and work with children. Texas Children's is one of the top Pedi hospitals in the US if not the world. The child will not get any finer care than what he is receiving now. Yes, the hospital is paying for her attorney. Yes, Texas Children's has an excellent ethics committee and they have debated this to exhaustion. They have explained to Mom in every way they can that this child will not make it and to keep him on support only prolongs the suffering. She is in denial and that is understandable and normal. He is getting the finest care that can be given and other facilities could not give him as good as he is getting now. However, the outcome will be the same, he will not make it. His chest will not accommodate his growing lung. His chest will not expand enough as he inhales. He will die. PERIOD. In the meantime, manpower and resources are being tied up and another child who might make it may be denied care. Health care is not a bottomless well, and we must make humane but rational choices. It is hard to watch children and infants die, and as pedi DR's and RN's, your heart aches for the parents, but it happens. There are no guarantees that all children born will make it and all health problems can be reversed. Someone has to legally put their foot down and say enough is enough, the hospital has done all it can, they cannot change what will be.

[lavenderdiva]

49. Hey, AnneD, fellow Houstonian!

Its such a sad situation all the way around it. Horse with no Name explained how they sedate the baby so he is not aware of any discomfort. I failed to mention that the news reports here had made that clear. I guess I am wondering, even though he is sedated, is he slowly being suffocated, since his chest is not keeping up with the rest of his growth, and his lungs cannot expand?

You are absolutely right about Texas Children's Hospital; it has such a wonderful reputation, and I am sure they are doing whatever they can for Sun and his mother. Right out of high school and during my early years of college, I was a nurse's aide in the nursery of one of the hospitals in New Orleans, where I grew up. I absolutely LOVED working there with the babies!

I agree with you about maintaining a perspective on certain situations like this one, and knowing that there are limits to what one can and cannot do for patients and their families. There are so many who need help, and a certain amount of resources to fulfill those needs.

ps. are you going to the Houston DU meet-up this weekend? I'm not sure if I can, but I'll see... :bounce:

[Kadie]

25. **UPDATE** Life Support Continued For Houston Infant

Life Support Continued For Houston Infant
Appeals Court Gives Reprieve To Baby On Life Support

POSTED: 7:47 am PST February 17, 2005
UPDATED: 7:57 am PST February 17, 2005

HOUSTON -- There's a reprieve for a baby on life support at a Houston hospital.

An appeals court has revived a restraining order that stops the hospital from shutting off a ventilator keeping the infant alive.

Medical officials at Texas Children's Hospital want to disconnect the machines, saying there is no treatment that can save Sun Hudson. He suffers from a rare disease that causes underdeveloped lungs, small ribs and extremely short limbs.

But, Wanda Hudson believes her son will recover. Although she hasn't seen the baby for a month, she said she communicates with him telepathically.

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4207514/detail.html

[Shakespeare]

29. hasn't seen the baby for a month, said she communicates with him--

TELEPATHICALLY???

There are only two possibilities here. One, she's completely, seriously insane and needs treatment, or two, she's covering her ass with a bizarre reason for not even bothering to visit this child she is allegedly so passionately concerned about.

End that child's suffering already....my god.

[LisaL]

42. She has nothing to cover her ass for.

The child's condition is caused by a genetic mutations, not by the mother.
I suspect she has some serious mental problems.

[Shakespeare]

45. I suspect she has serious mental problems as well, BUT--

I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I was NOT implying that she needs to cover her ass regarding the child's deformity, but about her seeming inattentiveness--if she IS mentally stable--demonstrated by her not seeing the child. Kind of hard for her to reconcile her sudden concern with an apparent lack of previous concern.

But, as we both agree, the greater likelihood is that she's totally mentally unstable. It's a heartbreaking situation, no matter which it is.

[bleedingheart]

26. The poor mother needs comfort and help.

Based on the articles there isn't much hope for this poor child.

It is inevitable that he will die why not let him pass peacefully???

[msanthrope]

27. Because he is in extreme pain, and his ventilator

is only prolonging the agony.

He could live months on the ventilator. In agony.

[bleedingheart]

31. oh I agree that he should be off the ventilator but I do think the

mother needs some sort of counseling as she seems to be really out of it.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. Here's a site...

that features the story of a baby born with this kind of genetic disorder, though it doesn't appear this baby was on life support. The defect is an extreme version of dwarfism. It is not pretty.


http://www.angelfire.com/hero/kolbysstory/

[KissMeKate]

36. again- where are the prolifers? who decides if its pretty enough to live

or die?

[DU GrovelBot]

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[kiraboo]

34. I'm sure it sounds utterly heartless,

but if we want to make sure there is adequate basic medical care for everybody then some difficult decisions have to be made. In this case it is clear to me that, with the child suffering and no possible cure, it would be most humane and I'm afraid, most practical to remove life support. Constant care is incredibly expensive. We complain about the cost of the inauguration when our soldiers don't have adequate armor. I believe a case can be made that spending money on this baby's support is better spent, say, immunizing other infants or providing them with critical emergency care that they might not otherwise be able to afford.

[KissMeKate]

37. WHERE ARE THE PROLIFERS ON DU?

why arent you "pro lifer"s outraged?

Are you pro SOME life, but not others?

[KissMeKate]

40. thats what I thought.

eom