CA - Parents Of Toddler Declared Brain-Dead Convinced He’s Still Alive

[K_Z]

Brain death has been confirmed.

But the parents believe in the healing power of God, and so they don't want to withdraw somatic support and trust in God to heal their deceased child.

As in other cases, I personally don't believe that these parents are guided by their religious beliefs in their efforts here. I know that's not PC to say out loud. I know we don't have any religious test requirements in the U.S. to claim beliefs, but it's clear to me when people conveniently claim these beliefs, and have all of the right to life lawyers and religious advocacy groups involved right away. Very few of these cases that make into into the media are families who were actually living out their devout beliefs prior to the current catastrophe, IMO-- they just discover that if they claim that they have sincerely held beliefs, it gives them another basis/ excuse on which to challenge doctors, laws, and courts. That's my opinion.

Here is a scholarly case study involving a truely devout Jewish family who objected to the finding of brain death, and how the hospitals handled that.

http://www.press.jhu.edu/directmail/nib12/documents/NIB_1.1_smith.pdf

 

[K_Z]

Snipped for brevity.

Not only are the media reports leaving out any references to the child's condition prior to this incident, they are actively promoting a different perspective:

The earliest reports said this:
Israel Stinson was healthy and happy one minute and hooked up to a ventilator the next.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016...eclared-brain-dead-convinced-hes-still-alive/

Yes, it's definitely reminiscent of the early narrative in the Jahi McMath case. That's why it sounded so suspect, at least to me. I don't trust the media to be at all neutral in reporting these cases. Mainstream media is being actively recruited to "report" on them in a certain way by the ones who notified the media in the first place. It's a coordinated effort to manipulate public opinion against the big, bad, mean old bullies at the hospital who want to kill children. The evil medical professionals.

 

[K_Z]

A lot more to the story. It also says he was at home when he had the asthma attack. Article have said the parents lived in Vacaville, he was previously treated iat Kaiser Vacaville. So why was he taken to Sacramento's Mercy General Hospital, 40 minutes away? And all of his attacks would be serious.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article75472347.html

Multiple hospitals have been involved in Israel’s care. According to court papers filed by Kaiser’s lawyers, Israel was treated at Kaiser Vacaville’s emergency department for a severe asthma attack about four months ago. In January, the filing said, the child’s parents and county Child Protective Services were informed that Israel’s medical history and the failure to comply with medical recommendations were weakening Israel’s lung capacity to the point where he might be unable to recover from a severe bronchospasm.

In another court declaration, Dr. Paul Byrne, a non-Kaiser pediatrician who examined Israel’s medical records on behalf of Fonseca and visited Israel several times in the hospital, said the 2-year-old suffers from hypoxia (lack of oxygen supply to body tissues) and hypothyroidism, a deficiency in thyroid hormones. He was also being treated for diabetes insipidus, which causes extreme thirst and heavy urination.

BBM. Diabetes insipidis in a brain dead person does not cause "extreme thirst". Brain dead people do not sense "thirst", as they have no brain to process that. They do, however, lose massive amounts of fluids if their kidneys are functioning. DI in a brain dead person is vastly different than DI in a living person-- the 2 are not equivalent comparisons.

Patients with brain death all have "thyroid deficiency", as the release of thyroid hormone is signaled by the anterior pituitary in the brain, which is "dead" if the patient has brain death. Another example of the intentional framing of information to make it sound like legitimate medical conditions to be "treated". That's kind of like saying aysytole is an "abnormal heart rhythm"-- when it's actually the absence of any rhythm, and is nearly always a confirmation of death, not a rhythm to be treated.

Paul Byrne is not a "pediatrician"-- he's a neonatologist (NOT a neurologist or neurosurgeon) by training, practice, and certification. He is not qualified to be an expert in cases like this one, is not licensed in California, and was rejected by the California courts in the Jahi McMath case. He is more of a religious figure than a medical one-- he has spent many decades fighting against organ donation and brain death. Even the Catholic church, his church, has formally and officially disavowed Byrne's beliefs about brain death and organ donation.

On occasion, however, some misunderstand Catholic teaching in their pro-life zeal and deny that certain actions are morally permissible. For example, there are some Catholics who reject the notion of vital organ transplantation and the criteria that are currently used to judge a donor to be dead before the organs are extracted.

In the introduction to a recent book titled Finis Vitae, Paul Byrne, MD, a pediatrician, writes, “The holocaust of abortion and transplantation of organs from living donors will go down in history as the two most tragic and transcendental events of the last two centuries. Such massacres continue with the protection of law in the Western countries and the unwavering support of the legal and medical professions.”4 Dr. Byrne claims that those who have been judged dead by neurological criteria are still alive and that the excision of their vital organs is tantamount to murder. By taking such a position, Dr. Byrne is at odds with the current teaching of the magisterium of the Catholic Church.

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9719

The Catholic church's teachings on brain death and organ donation can be easily searched in a browser-- lots and lots of articles. Lots of writings by Paul Byrne, as well.

 

[rob]

As a religious parent, who once had a child on life support that had to be disconnected (I can't bring myself to say the other words), I can say for certain that I was sure that if it was God's will for my child to live, He didn't need any assistance in making that happen.

I don't want to be ugly or negative, but sometimes I have the feeling there are other motives in these situations. No amount of money could have eased the pain of losing my child.

 

[Lilibet]

As a religious parent, who once had a child on life support that had to be disconnected (I can't bring myself to say the other words), I can say for certain that I was sure that if it was God's will for my child to live, He didn't need any assistance in making that happen.

I don't want to be ugly or negative, but sometimes I have the feeling there are other motives in these situations. No amount of money could have eased the pain of losing my child.

I'm so sorry for your tragic loss, rob.

 

[SophieRose]

I shouldn't but I had to post these, saw them as comments on a blog site.

New Jersey - California's graveyard

Hotel New Jersey - we'll leave a ventilator on for you.

 

[K_Z]

Here's one of the court documents filed by the family and what the mother says happened at the hospitals. And yes, that is the Paul Byrne known from Jahi's case.

http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Fons...28-16_Declarations_Snyder,_Byrne,_Fonseca.pdf

I'm looking for the document/s filed by Kaiser in response to the request for temporary restraining order by mother Jonee Fonseca, but haven't located yet. If anyone else locates the Kaiser docs, please post.

In the mean time, here are some additional documents linked from Professor Thaddeus Pope's website. I found a new bit of info-- that Israel was scheduled to be transferred to a hospital in Washington state around April 23 or thereabouts, but the hospital then declined to accept him. So there are actually 2 hospitals that have declined to receive him-- St. Peters in NJ, and Sacred Heart in WA.

29. On April 22, 2016, Judge Jones extended the order to allow for Israel’s
transfer to another hospital. Arrangements were made to transfer Israel to Sacred
Heart Hospital in Spokane WA and a life flight via AirCare1was reserved to
transport Israel to Spokane. The order continued the hearing to Wednesday, April
27, 2016. For reasons unknown to Plaintiff Jonee Fonseca, Sacred Heart Hospital
later decided not to receive Israel.

28. After the April 15 hearing, Plaintiff Fonseca made numerous efforts to
secure an independent neurologist or other physician to examine Israel, pursuant to
California Health and Safety Code § 7181. Dr. Michel Accad, a cardiologist with the
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco agreed to examine Israel on
April 23 or 24, 2016. However, on April 23, he notified Ms. Fonseca that he would
not be able to conduct the exam. Plaintiff Fonseca had contacted Dr. Paul Byrne, a
board certified neonatologist, pediatrician, and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at
University of Toledo, College of Medicine. However, KPRMC would not allow Dr.
Byrne to examine Israel or even be present during an examination, as he is not a
California licensed physician.

http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Fonseca_v_Kaiser_ED_Cal_04-28-16_complaint.pdf

From what I can piece together, Israel was first declared brain dead April 4th, and has had at least 3 separate neurological/ brain death evaluations, all of which included, MRI, radionuclide flow studies (the most specific and definitive brain blood flow study), and CT, in addition to standard diagnostic tests.

This is from Jonee Fonseca's statement in the request for TRO (and are a fairly accurate lay person's description of portions of the neuro exam for brain death):

*KZ note-- it's very clear to me from her description and the timeline that ECMO was discontinued medically because Israel was brain dead, not that he "improved" and was removed from ECMO.

10. On Sunday April 3, 2016, A brain test was conducted on Israel to determine possibility of
brain damage while he was hooked up to the ECMO machine. The test involved poking
his eye with a Q-tip, banging on his knee, flashing a light in his eye, flushing water down
his ear, and putting a stick down his throat to check his gag reflexes. On April 4, 2016,
the same tests were performed when he was taken of the ECMO machine.

11. On April 6, 2016 Israel was taken off the ECMO machine because his hearth and lungs
were functioning on their own. However, the next day, a radioactive test was performed
to determine blood flow to the brain.

12. I begged for an MRI and CT scan to be done on Israel before the third and final doctor
performed the test. This was done on April 10, 2016. These results still have not been
given to me, and I’ve been told that the results are only “preliminary.”

13. On April 11, 2016, Israel was transferred via ambulance from UC Davis to Kaiser
Permanente Women and Children’s Medical Center in Rosveille. Upon our arrival at
Kaiser, another reflex test was done, in addition to an apnea test. On April 14, 2016, an
additional reflex test was done.

Dr. Byrne's note says:

On April 4, Cranial Doppler showed "Near total absence of blood flow into the bilateral cerebral hemispheres."

http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Stinson_Placer_County_Order.pdf

http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Fonseca_v_Kaiser_ED_Cal_04-28-16_Petition_TRO.pdf (petition for court order)

http://thaddeuspope.com/images/Fonseca_v_Kaiser_ED_Cal_04-28-16_TRO.pdf (court order)

 

[SophieRose]

They've posted a few more videos of Israel.

Comment says
Two-year old Israel Stinson moving in response to his mother's voice
[video=youtube;AzQTzPgKgXw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzQTzPgKgXw[/video]

 

[SophieRose]

2nd video
[video=youtube;rxOSv1DMyrI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxOSv1DMyrI[/video]

 

[SophieRose]

Washington Post picked up the story.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ights-to-keep-her-2-year-old-on-life-support/

On April 1, Israel had an asthma attack and was rushed to a hospital. He was quickly transferred to the University of California at Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, where he was treated before staff told his parents that their son might soon be able to go home, according to court records.

But after a breathing treatment, court records state, the boy began to wheeze and shiver.

"Within a few minutes the monitor started beeping," according to Fonseca's complaint. "The nurse came in and repositioned the mask on Israel, then left the room.

"Within minutes of the nurse leaving the room, Israel started to shiver and went limp in his mother’s arms. She pressed the nurses' button, and screamed for help, but no one came to the room."

When a nurse finally did come, his mother claimed, she asked to see her son's doctor.

 

[watcher9]

By sprinkling links in the article to cases of amazing recoveries, they are trying to slant the reader's view of brain death.
One of the comments below though mentioned the 14 yo girl who was shot by a uber driver, declared dead but then came back.
The article I found looks like she was declared dead because her heart quit beating, not because of actual brain death tests.
Does anyone know more about this case?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ber-driver-opens-eyes-looks-parents-time.html

 

[jjenny]

By sprinkling links in the article to cases of amazing recoveries, they are trying to slant the reader's view of brain death.
One of the comments below though mentioned the 14 yo girl who was shot by a uber driver, declared dead but then came back.
The article I found looks like she was declared dead because her heart quit beating, not because of actual brain death tests.
Does anyone know more about this case?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ber-driver-opens-eyes-looks-parents-time.html

14 year old was not officially declared brain dead. She had a severe injury so there was not much hope for her survival at the time, but there were no official ruling of brain death. It doesn't sound like they ever run the tests on her needed for brain death declaration.

"Dr. Aaron Lane-Davies of Bronson Children's Hospital said Abigail's heart beat stopped during attempts to save her life, but it was restored. An organ donation service was contacted with her parents' permission, though she was never declared medically brain dead, he said."

http://abc7chicago.com/news/kalamaz...ar-old-michigan-victim-clung-to-life/1212224/

 

[SophieRose]

According to this article, doesn't sound like she was ever actually claimed brain dead.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/teen-injured-uber-driver-shooting-im-warrior-princess/story?id=38648276

Abigail's injuries, which included being shot in the head, were so severe that her heart stopped and her medical team was concerned she might become brain dead, according to Bronson Children's Hospital, where she was treated. The teen is now able to walk and talk, telling ABC News she hopes she can do "cartwheels again" after she recovers.

 

[SweetT]

I saw an article or something the other day, wish I could recall where or what...but there is a group now that is going to start using stem cells and something else to try and revive "Brain dead" people, they have had luck with it in mice. I'll look for the link

BTW: My little brother was hit by a car at 16 and declared brain dead, my father had to be the one to decide to pull the plug. Fast forward a few yrs, my father had a massive stroke, he was declared brain dead and in a coma. I had to make the decision to do the same for him. It was the hardest decision of my life. My only help was that we had been able to talk about this due to my little brother and I knew my father would not want to be a vegetable had he survived. Most people do not get the opportunity to discuss such things. My father also had a DNR. I obliged, however it was difficult. I do pray for this family and hope that they will someday find peace. I pray even more that a miracle occurs and they can have their baby back. Sometimes, I don't see a reason for things even though I know people say there is.

 

[SweetT]

Here is the link

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/reanima-project-brains/


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/biotech-company-bringing-dead-back-life-article-1.2624329

 

[K_Z]

So, we have to be careful when discussing brain death to not confuse that very specific situation of brain death, with coma, brain "injury", or persistent vegetative state. All of those conditions (coma, injury, PVS) have a somewhat intact brain structure, with intact blood flow bringing oxygen and nutrients. The brain, by the way, is the most metabolically active organ in the body. That's why such catastrophic damage occurs with only a few minutes of interrupted oxygen and/ or blood flow.

Brain dead brains cannot be "healed" through any conventional or experimental means, because there is no coherent brain left, due to the absence of blood flow inside the head above the carotids. Brain tissue has almost no connective tissue, so it loses structure very quickly when there is no blood flow to nourish it. As an example, in the O.R., during "open" crainiotomy (brain surgery), anesthesia and the surgeons work together-- by increasing the rate of ventilation at the surgeon's request, we can "bring the brain down" in the surgical field (reduce the size), and by slowing ventilations at the surgeon's request, we can "bring the brain up" in the surgical field (increase the brain volume to improve surgical access or visualization). The consistency of a healthy brain is like firm jello. It is not a solid organ like a liver or a kidney.

Some may find this article below interesting. It is written by a woman surgeon, Dr. Pauline Chen, who has conducted over 150 beating heart organ procurements in brain dead people/ cadavers. It is eloquently written, IMO, and is not a medical journal article. It is written for the general public, about her feelings about being involved with organ procurement, etc. This is one passage in the article that makes it very clear what condition brains are in after only a short time without circulation, when the patient remains on a ventilator in ICU (warning-- graphic):

There is a belief in medicine that the pathologist has the final say and that in death there is truth. The truth in brain death is mind-boggling. While normal brain tissue is firm, a brain that has been dead shows progressive autolysis, a form of biological self-destruction. “It will almost be like soup,” Dr. Harry Vinters, chief of neuropathology at UCLA, recently explained to me. He is the co-author of a major textbook on the pathology of the brain and has performed almost a hundred autopsies on the brain-dead. “It really depends on how long they have been on the ventilator. If they have been on the ventilator for two days, then the brain is grey and softened. But if, for example, a family has had difficulty deciding what they want to do and the patient has been kept on the ventilator for two to three weeks, then there’s tremendous autolysis. The brain gets very swollen, soft, and mushy.” The nerve tissue can become so friable that fragments of brain from the head will break off and float down the spinal column. “Sometimes I’ll be looking at a slide of the spinal cord,” says Vinters, “and I’ll see fragments of cerebellum floating around in the specimen.”

http://www.vqronline.org/essay/dead-enough-paradox-brain-death

Israel has had no blood flow to his brain for over 4 weeks, since that was first diagnosed April 4th, according to the information in the court filings linked above. That is medical truth. The diagnostic blood flow tests have been repeated at a minimum of 3 times since April 4th, according to court filings. Blood flow cannot ever be re-established by any conventional means, nor by experimental means, because brain tissue deteriorates very quickly, and there is no circulatory network of blood vessels to restore circulation "to".

Additionally, here is some information on radionuclide imaging in a brain dead patient. Search "hot nose sign" to see more images. Basically, the only circulation that remains is to the superficial tissues of the face, skin, and nose.

http://radiopaedia.org/cases/hot-nose-sign-brain-death

https://www.google.com/search?q=hot...KEwimia_Os8jMAhXHKCYKHdh3Ab0Q_AUIBygC&dpr=1.5

http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.2351030537

http://www.ajnr.org/content/15/5/913.full.pdf

 

[SophieRose]

I saw an article or something the other day, wish I could recall where or what...but there is a group now that is going to start using stem cells and something else to try and revive "Brain dead" people, they have had luck with it in mice. I'll look for the link

BTW: My little brother was hit by a car at 16 and declared brain dead, my father had to be the one to decide to pull the plug. Fast forward a few yrs, my father had a massive stroke, he was declared brain dead and in a coma. I had to make the decision to do the same for him. It was the hardest decision of my life. My only help was that we had been able to talk about this due to my little brother and I knew my father would not want to be a vegetable had he survived. Most people do not get the opportunity to discuss such things. My father also had a DNR. I obliged, however it was difficult. I do pray for this family and hope that they will someday find peace. I pray even more that a miracle occurs and they can have their baby back. Sometimes, I don't see a reason for things even though I know people say there is.

A woman posted her story in a forum, her mother, who lived with her, was in the end stages of Alzheimer's Disease and hospice had been called. Surprisingly the woman had no idea what hospice was and was very upset when she found out it was a service to help with the terminally ill. She said that she could tell through her 96-year-old mother's eyes that she still wanted to live and she was insisting a feeding tube be placed in her.

 

[SweetT]

A woman posted her story in a forum, her mother, who lived with her, was in the end stages of Alzheimer's Disease and hospice had been called. Surprisingly the woman had no idea what hospice was and was very upset when she found out it was a service to help with the terminally ill. She said that she could tell through her 96-year-old mother's eyes that she still wanted to live and she was insisting a feeding tube be placed in her.

Very sad ):

 

[SophieRose]

I think the hearing is at 3:30 today. Here are more court documents posted on Medical Futility. Go to Courts Grant TROs to Families and all the 2016 documents are related to Israel Stinson.

http://thaddeuspope.com/endofliferesources/braindeath.html

Pope also posts on his blog:
http://medicalfutility.blogspot.com/2016/05/israel-stinson-brain-death-case-next.html

To assure federal jurisdiction, the family has now asserted a claim under EMTALA. They also challenge the California brain death statute as unconstitutional, since it affords no procedural due process mechanism for challenging the declaration of death.

====
https://www.acep.org/News-Media-top-banner/EMTALA/

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay, but since its enactment in 1986 has remained an unfunded mandate.

 

[K_Z]

Statement from Jonee Fonseca today, prior to the hearing asking for in injunction:

http://standardnewswire.com/news/3410211318.html

ROSEVILLE, Calif., May 11, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is a statement from Jonee Fonseca, Israel Stinson's Mother:

It has been well over a month now that my fiancé and I have been fighting for our two-year-old son Israel's life.

Doctors at Kaiser Roseville Medical Center declared Israel "brain dead" after an asthma attack left him unconscious. Israel has been on a ventilator since April 2 and was declared brain dead on April 14—almost a month ago.

Within 24 hours of being admitted to Kaiser, the hospital wanted to remove our son from life support. They said Israel would only live for a few days and his heart would soon stop beating. We were prepared to accept his death once his heart stopped. But one month later, Israel has proven the doctors wrong. He is a fighter!

We have been able to keep Israel on life support with the help of our legal team, but it has been a tough battle. We are mentally and physically drained, but spiritually we are stronger than ever because we know that Israel is still very much alive!

Three weeks ago, Israel started moving his head and upper body in response to our voice and touch. He has kicked his legs. And he has taken some breaths on his own "over" or in addition to the ventilator.

The doctors who declared Israel "dead" can see our son move his head and body in response to my voice. They listen to his beating heart. They tell me he is stable and that his organs are healthy. But they refuse to feed him. And because he didn't pass their test—a test that was given almost a month ago—they want to kill him.

I am a mother, not a doctor. But I have started doing research into the brain and am learning new words like "neuroplasticity," which is the brain's amazing ability to change and even to repair itself after severe injuries. NBC just aired a documentary on this and asked the question I have been asking Kaiser: Are you pulling the plug too soon?

A neurologist who recently watched a video of Israel's movements said "Any head movement by a person, whether to verbal stimuli or spontaneously, reveals that there is intact functioning of the brain" and that "it is completely illogical and against any brain death criteria standards to classify this child as brain dead."

ISRAEL IS NOT DEAD. HE IS ALIVE.

Today we will face our toughest legal battle yet. I don't know how much more time Kaiser will give my son. The best hope for Israel is to be transferred to another hospital that will provide Israel with nutrition and with a breathing tube. This needs to happen soon.

I am asking for anyone with connections to a hospital to please email me at [email protected] and help us save our son's life.