I agree. It appears he is in extreme denial.
And if a decision is not made very soon, within a few more days, then it will become very complicated. If she is making no progress at all in ICU, she can't stay there indefinitely.
We are at 3 weeks with essentially no improvement. They have only 2 options: withdraw support, or plan to move her to a long term care/ rehab situation. It's pretty clear that no one is trying to get her off the vent, so I can assume it's not possible, at this point. At 3 weeks, they would definitely be trying to "wake her up" to see if she can have any respiratory effort at all. (That would have happened more than a week ago.)
For the type of injury she has, by report, a drowning with full arrest at the scene, and now 3 weeks of "coma", there are really no ICU level acute care interventions left. The care provided is supportive, not "curative". All of the immediate ICU interventions to improve her chances at neurological improvement have been done by now-- medically induced coma to reduce brain activity (that is usually only a few days), hypothermia, various medications and strategies to reduce acute brain swelling, etc.
Nothing encouraging about her condition has been leaked or stated outright.
IMO, the ICU docs as well as social work, and administrators have been explaining over and over what her condition actually is, and what the prognosis is. I am absolutely certain that the truth of her condition has been explained to BB and other relatives over and over.
I think there will be changes coming very soon, and she will not be in the ICU much longer. If she meets the criteria for brain death, the ethics committee will recommend setting a date and time for withdrawal of support (either in the ICU, or on another unit). The consensus of an ethics committee is a layer of protection for the docs and the hospital. (It's possible that this case has already been evaluated by the Emory ethics committee. Family does not have to consent to a referral to the ethics committee, but are always notified.)
If BB does not agree with that, the case will likely go to court to prevent withdrawal of support, just as Jahi McMath's did. Doctors do not "refrain" from making a brain death diagnosis if it is clearly indicated. Next of kin do not get to "decide" if the evaluation should take place or not, or decide if the diagnosis is made-- that belongs to doctors, in all 50 states. But if the family disagrees with the finding, they can try to get an injunction to prevent care from being withdrawn. And the court will likely do what they did in the McMath case-- appoint an outside expert to do another evaluation, and report to the court.
If she does not meet criteria for brain death, the ethics committee would still make a recommendation as to how to proceed. In that case, if BB desires to continue care, they will have to decide to place a trach and g-tube (or not), and where she will be moved to.
I still think that all signs indicate she is brain dead. I think BB is in denial, and devastated. He is putting off making any decisions, IMO.
The hospital, in deference to the celebrities, have extended much more patience and time than they would for most families, IMO, which may end up making the situation much more difficult in the long run. (As we saw with the McMath case.)
As long as she is in the ICU, there is the aura that she is perhaps making progress, and the public grasps onto the illusion that the situation may be hopeful after all.
Info about Emory's ethics committee process:
http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/emor...dtown-atlanta/patient/while-you-are-here.html
