SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Doctors say new tests are needed on a severely beaten 11-year-old girl, who officials said was responding to medical stimuli and breathing on her own a day after Massachusetts' highest court ruled the state had the authority to remove her from life support.
Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Social Services, which has custody of Haleigh Poutre, said doctors will perform more tests "to see what the movements mean."
She would not say how Haleigh was responding or to what tests. The girl has been in a coma for four months and thought to be in an irreversible vegetative state.
"There's a possible change in her condition," Monteiro said Wednesday. "She's having some responses."
Haleigh's stepfather, Jason Strickland, is charged with beating the girl and could face a murder charge if she dies. He has fought to keep her on life support but lost his appeal Tuesday in the Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts' highest court.
The court ruled that the social services department had the authority to remove the ventilator and feeding tube after doctors said the girl was in an irreversible vegetative state.
On Wednesday afternoon, however, doctors told the social services agency that Haleigh's condition had changed, Monteiro told the Boston Globe in its Thursday editions. She said Haleigh was breathing on her own and the agency had no immediate plans to remove her feeding tube.
One of Strickland's lawyers said Wednesday he wants more time to decide whether to bring the case before a federal judge.
"This is exactly the point we were trying to make. What's the rush? Just give her a chance," attorney John Egan said. "Medical science is not that certain. We would hope the whole process will slow down, and everyone will step back and end the compulsion to end her life."
Haleigh's doctors have said her brain stem is damaged and she would die within a few days without a feeding tube.
Some patients with severe brain stem injuries may partially recover from a persistent vegetative state, but they rarely recover fully enough to communicate, feed themselves and live ordinary lives, Dr. Steve Williams, chief of rehabilitation medicine at Boston Medical Center, told the Globe. But he said recovery is more likely with children than adults.
"There's more plasticity to their brain. There's potentially other areas of the brain that can take over," he said.
Haleigh's aunt and adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, also was charged with assault but was found dead less than two weeks later alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide.
The girl's biological mother, Allison Avrett, had supported removing Haleigh from life support. She said she met with state officials and doctors Wednesday but would not comment on reports of her daughter's responses.
Along with deciding that Jason Strickland has no say in Haleigh's medical care, the state's highest court also denied his request to unseal court documents related to Haleigh's life support.
The documents were not made public because of confidentiality laws. That has led to some concerns that the social services agency is making life-and-death decisions without any outside review.
Frankly ordering her unplugged after only 4 months in a coma is pretty damned irresponsible imo.
I guess the state holds tax dollars in much higher regard than human life.
Poor kid... after reading the full story, death could almost be seen as a mercy at this point.
Haleigh's stepfather, Jason Strickland, is charged with beating the girl and could face a murder charge if she dies. He has fought to keep her on life support but lost his appeal Tuesday in the Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts' highest court.
What a piece of shit, they should charge him anyway.
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." - John F Kennedy
I thought Schaivo was breathing, but had a feeding tube. Either way, there is a big difference between a grown woman who's been broccoli for 15 years and a young girl who's only been down for 4 months.
"There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships." -Theodore Roosevelt
Badabidi wrote:I tell you if she was on life support for another 40 or 50 years she would've pulled out of it!
Exactly, so the government should pay to keep her on life support until she pulls out.. which could be when she is 60.. 70.. never? Thats bullshit, its expensive as fuck, I garuntee you the family isnt paying for it, and even if her insurance was- at some time or another they were done and she became a ward of the state(I could be wrong but I don't think so) So we are just supposed to pay for this whenever it happens to someone? Humanitarians FTL.
Don't get me wrong, im not totally heartless, In the case of the little girl that was mentioned at the start of the thread, I think 2 weeks was hasty.
Two big things grabbed my attention while reading the article:
1. The article states that "children more often recover from these illnesses than adults".
2. The major difference of time of the vegetation state between Schivo and this girl. Not that I could medically say how much time makes a difference, but 15 years vs. 4 months seems quite different. 4 months seems alarmingly short to pull the plug, am I alone on this?
These two points make it hard to compare Schivo and the other girl.
I think everyone is missing the point that while she may have a chance of recovery, it will never be a full recovery. In a sense she will still be a vegetable. What kind of quality of life do you think she would have? I say show her mercy and let her die.
This is just another example showing why the punishment for attempted murder should equal that of actual murder. The guy intended for her die and is only sueing to save a few years behind bars.
Deward wrote:This is just another example showing why the punishment for attempted murder should equal that of actual murder. The guy intended for her die and is only sueing to save a few years behind bars.
I totally agree with that. I never knew why it was different in the first place.
