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> [Original Message]
> From: Edward Evans <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 4/30/2006 8:23:08 PM
> Subject: [berkeley-disabled] Andrea Clarke's Struggle for Life
>
> Andrea Clarke's Struggle for Life
>
> Update: Breaking News here - the hospital is giving the family three days.
>
> The great state of Texas has apparently adopted euthanasia as a means for
> controlling its health care costs. I'm told that Andrea Clark, a woman
whose
> life
> hangs in the balance, is one of many individuals whose medical treatment
is
> being withdrawn for the express purpose of ending their lives.
>
> Andrea, 54, suffered complications following open heart surgery that left
> her
> dependent upon a respirator for survival. Although her motor control
> faculties were damaged, according to her family, her cognitive abilities
> were
> unaffected.
>
> On April 19, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, TX informed
Andrea's
> closest kin that her medical care would be discontinued in 10 days; an
> ethics
> committee decided to "pull the plug" in a flagrant act of (passive)
> euthanasia.
> Amazingly, the committee included an Episcopalian priest who asserted,
"it's
>
> wrong to keep Andrea alive, she is suffering," despite having had no
contact
>
> with her. [as reported by Ree-C Murphey].
>
>
> Until early last week, Andrea was able to make her own medical decisions
and
>
> had decided that she wanted life saving treatment until the point of
> "natural
> death". However, "the physicians decided to increase her pain medication
and
>
> anesthetize her into unconsciousness," revealed her sister, Melanie
> Childers.
>
> In a brief conversation this evening, Melanie explained that before
> sedation,
> her sister was very responsive, both recognizing visitors and interacting
> with them. Although a tracheostomy left her unable to speak, she was able
to
>
> communicate effectively by mouthing words and sentences.
>
> "When her son comes in she smiles," Melanie explained. "She told [him],
'You
>
> need to get married'."
>
> Lanore Dixon, another of Andrea's sisters, told KHOU,
>
> "If their ethics committee makes a decision, it doesn't matter what the
> patient
> wants. It doesn't even apparently matter what the patient's condition is,
> because our sister is not in a coma, she's not brain dead. She's sick, but
> she's been sick before and she's proven doctors wrong lots of times.
> Andrea's family sees her sedation as the hospital preparing them for the
> inevitable. "It is not easy, we want to say good-bye but she is drugged
up,"
>
> Melanie told me, her voice quivering with emotion.
>
> Last Saturday Andrea's family called for a protest outside St. Luke's
> Hospital. To their surprise, the demonstration was well attended by
families
> who had
> previously lost a loved one to the hospital's compulsory euthanasia
program.
>
> John Hawkings (RightWingNews) contacted the hospital, asking for their
side
> of the story. Similar to other media outlets, he received the following
> statement:
>
> "Ms. Andrea Clark was admitted to St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital on
> November 20, 2005. Due to St. Luke's confidentiality policy regarding
> patient privacy, it is precluded from commenting on her care unless the
> family provides written consent to the hospital.
> St. Luke's treatment of Ms. Clark has been and continues to be consistent
> with its mission of providing ethical, compassionate and quality care to
all
> its patients."
>
> We would certainly like to hear more from St. Luke's Hospital.
>
> Andrea's sister disagrees that the institution is providing ethical and
> compassionate care:
> St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, in my opinion, is heartless and cold, and
> only
>
> concerned about the bottom line. But the insurance company, Blue Cross
> Blue Shield, is also a party to this kind of thing. That's where the
> pressure
>
> needs to be applied. I am sure Blue Cross Blue Shield is suffering no
> negative publicity in this battle. But they should.
> Most people don't know how this system works. And I wouldn't have known,
> either, had I not been faced with this horrible situation. Poor Andrea,
> knowing
> that her health was delicate, bought supplemental insurance policies right
> and left--most of which do not cover this type of situation at all (she
> didn't
> know--she was just doing her best, to protect herself). The sad thing is
> that
>
> Andrea spent large pieces of her limited income in order to avoid just
such
> a
>
> situation, and here she is faced with it anyway.
> Melanie and the rest of her family do not know what will happen to Andrea,
> "It's in God's hands," she said. However, they are committed to fight for
> her
> life and need the help of others.
>
> The deadline for Andrea Clark is Sunday, April 30th. Although her
attorney,
> Jerri Ward, is exploring "all legal avenues", state law apparently gives
the
>
> hospital a surprising advantage over their patients.
> In the meantime, Melanie has asked that those concerned about her sister
> contact the hospital:Andrea Clark is at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in
> Houston,
> TX. St. Luke's is located at: 6720 Bertner Avenue, Houston, TX. Their
phone
> number is: 832-355-1000.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>  
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