photo credit: Sharon Fitzgerald – billboard.com
A new study shows that a “substantial proportion” of patients with brain injuries who were deprived of life-sustaining care “may have survived and achieved at least partial independence.” The study, which was published in the May 13, 2024, issue of the Journal of Neurotrama, notes that the decision to withdraw life-sustaining care is often made within 72 hours of a brain injury, even though “some patients could have recovered consciousness, self-expression, or even independence.”
Researchers also found that “Critical care clinicians, who typically do not follow patients long-term, may overestimate the likelihood of a poor outcome,” resulting in removing treatment. This then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as – not surprisingly – the likelihood of death is much greater if medical care is withdrawn.
Life Legal has handled many cases on behalf of brain-injured patients who were threatened with removal of life-sustaining care because doctors made a hasty determination that they would never recover. In nearly every case, hospitals seek to withdraw ventilator support and even nutrition and hydration within a few days of patient’s brain injury. We have had to sue hospitals to compel them to continue treatment for many patients – and we have seen amazing recoveries in patients whose conditions were deemed “irreversible.”
Jesse Hughes, a well-known musician, called us for help because a California hospital threatened to withdraw ventilator support from his fiancée, Tuesday, after she suffered a severe asthma attack. We had to sue the hospital to ensure that Jesse could make medical decisions on Tuesday’s behalf. The hospital insisted that Tuesday would “never, ever” breathe on her own again. You can read more about Jesse’s story in this Billboard Magazine article. Tuesday has made significant improvements since the article was published: she is able to breathe on her own and is learning to speak again.
Tuesday is alive because of your support and commitment to Life Legal’s mission. Without your faithful prayers and generous giving, Tuesday and many others would have succumbed to the mistaken determination that their condition was hopeless. You make it possible for us to intervene and restore essential, life-saving care. Thank you!
Please continue to pray for the young girl I wrote about earlier this week. The hospital is putting a lot of pressure on the family to withdraw care. One of the physicians announced today that a representative from the organ donor company wants to meet with the family – even though the young girl is alive and showing signs of improvement.