Andrea Clark has been ill a long time. She was one of the first "blue babies" saved by modern medical technology. She had some handicaps and heart problems but had a satisfactory life with her knitting and her online friends. But she has the misfortune to live in Texas, where hospitals and doctors decide who lives and dies under the most draconian "futile care" law in the nation.
Ten days ago an "ethics committee" at her hospital said they would pull the plug on her respirator and her dialysis machine. This despite the fact she was cognizant when awake and off of her massive doses of pain medications. Her doctor said this was Andrea's wish to die but when asked the next day she wrote her sister "I want to live."
Her wishes don't matter.
The decision was in the hands of a committee of hospital employees who saw neither the patient nor the family. After months of increasingly expensive support, a blotched operation, questionable care, and daily calls from her insurance company, it would be best for the hospital if Andrea was dead and buried. They voted to pull the plugs ten days ago.
Left and right online communities came together and started to draw media attention. A solution was reached but has fallen apart. Now more calls and publicity are needed to prevent a life-ending decision tomorrow.
54-year old Andrea Clark went into St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston in November. An open-heart surgical operation was performed in January but complications developed. Instead of the operation making her better she grew worse. She developed large bed sores from her confinement at St. Luke's, often a sign of poor quality care. Her medication was dramatically increased to deal with the pain of the bed sores. This leaves her unconscious most of the time. More recently she developed an infection and swelling in the brain.
After the family was notified of the ethics committee decision, her sisters went online with their appeals for help. Online communities responded. After protests outside and numerous calls, St. Luke's agreed to transport her to a facility in a Chicago suburb and pay the costs if the family decided immediately. Although thousands of miles away, the family felt compelled to get her out of Texas and agreed. However, 20 minutes before getting in the ambulance it was learned that the facility was not properly equipped to handle Andrea's needs. Andrea's rescue from Texas law fell through.
Most people became aware of this story from posts by Andrea Clark's sister in Democratic Underground. From there it was picked up by some conservative bloggers and some right to life online sites. Some liberal and moderate local bloggers also have the story. It is slowly leaking into the media.
http://news.google.com/...
While Bush was governor of Texas, a coalition of doctors, hospitals and insurance companies suggested a law setting out how hospitals and doctors could remove patients from life support. This law was also sent to national Right-to-Life groups or comments. With little experience in making law, the right-to-life representatives agreed with the medical community bill. The bill gave all power in the decision to hospitals. The hospital's responsibility is to decide if further medical treatment is futile. The system provides one possible alternative: a 10-day notice before withdrawal of life-support. During that time the family can seek another qualified medical facility. However, Texas medical facilities have almost universally declined to take patients once one hospital has ruled further medical treatment is futile.
In many ways it is in her doctor's, the hospital's and her insurance company's interest to terminate her life. There have been questionable decisions regarding the quality of her care. If Andrea Clark is dead all liability is limited by another of Bush's accomplishments. As governor he signed a tort reform law that limits damages. With her alive, if there was a problem with her care the monetary damages would be that required to sustain her life. If responsible for her death a doctor or hospital is limited to $100,000 in damages.
I am sorry if there is a lack of detail in some parts of Andrea Clark's case. The hospital is not releasing any information and what is available is coming from non-medical professional family members or second or third hand from them.
"Andrea Clark is not brain dead- she is a sick patient with a family desperate to ensure that she continues to receive medical treatment and we at the NRLC Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics ask that she not be left to die." http://www.prolifeblogs.com/...
Her family now has a lawyer and a new doctor. The hospital meets early Tuesday morning to decide what to do. Now for the first time someone will be representing the patient and family. Will that be enough? The hospital has legally met the notice requirements and can order the plugs pulled immediately. A lawyer has notified the hospital that he is looking for a court to issue a cease-and-desist order but they haven't been served with a court document yet. It is up to a hospital committee which had already ruled once to pull the plugs.
http://lonestartimes.com/...
PLEASE CALL St. Luke's at 1-832-355-1000 and demand that they not cut off treatment!
Publicity helped last time. Perhaps someone could recommend a medical facility that can handle her needs. She has insurance. Please recommend, Andrea could use the publicity and prayers.
This story has been covered at my Easter Lemming Liberal News.
http://elemming2.blogspot.com/...