The Jahi McMath Tragedy: What You Need to Know
Updates on 13-year-old who became brain dead after surgery.
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Understanding Her Plight - In early December, 13-year-old Jahi McMath entered Children’s Hospital Oakland for a “routine” tonsillectomy and three days later was declared brain dead. After battling with their daughter's original hospital, Jahi's parents moved her to an undisclosed medical facility for treatment. What happened to her? Why wouldn't the original hospital let her stay on life support? What is a tonsillectomy? Read more about the McMath tragedy.—Kellee Terrell (@kelleent) (Photo: AP Photo/Courtesy of McMath Family and Omari Sealey, File)
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The Details Are Not Clear - Jahi’s family has said that in early December 2013 their daughter went in for a tonsillectomy to help with her sleep apnea. After her surgery, she was bleeding from her nose, suffered a heart attack and was later pronounced brain dead. The hospital is determining the causes of her complications. (Photo: AP Photo/The Contra Costa Times, Kristopher Skinner)
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The Fight for Life Support - While Jahi is brain dead, the McMath family has legally been able to keep her on life support until January 7. The family wants to move her to another facility that will keep Jahi on life support, but the current hospital has refused to perform a surgery to fit in a new feeding tube and a ventilator in order for her to leave. The hospital officials claim they cannot perform procedures on deceased patients. (Photo: AP Photo/The Contra Costa Times-Bay Area News Group, Susan Tripp Pollard)
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Why Won’t Her Family Take Her Off Life Support? - Due to religious convictions, the McMath family believes that their daughter is still alive, despite her diagnosis of being brain dead and only being kept alive with the help of machines. In past court proceedings, an outside doctor claims that he has seen Jahi respond to her grandmother’s touch. (Photo: AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Why Won’t the Hospital Help? - Hospital officials have diagnosed Jahi as brain dead and believe that she will never recover. The hospital has gone back and forth with the family and court stating that they couldn’t perform any more new surgeries on Jahi because it goes against hospital protocol. (Photo: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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What Is a Tonsillectomy? - Tonsillectomy is when someone's tonsils are removed during surgery. A doctor may want to perform this on a child if they have chronic tonsillitis (infected tonsils) or their tonsils are swollen so bad that they have a hard time eating and breathing, says KidsHealth.Org. Another reason is sleep apnea, such as in Jahi’s case, that one would also have the procedure. (Photo: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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What’s Sleep Apnea? - Sleep apnea causes the throat or upper airway to collapse, making it hard for oxygen to enter the lungs. This can cause shallow breathing or brief pauses in breathing. People with sleep apnea can cause people to be extremely tired. It’s estimated that 1-4 percent of kids have this disorder. (Photo: Birmingham News /Landov)
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Complications to Tonsillectomies - Complications can include bleeding, infection, nausea, pain and in some cases death. The death rates for tonsillectomies can range from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 35,000 (1.5 to 14 percent.) Yet, tonsillectomies are one of the most common procedures performed each year. (Photo: Siri Stafford/Getty Images)
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McMath Leaves Oakland Hospital - McMath finally left the Children's Hospital of Oakland on Sunday night, the Associated Press reported. In a private ambulance en route to an undisclosed location, McMath was hooked up to a ventilator but no feeding tube. McMath had been at the Oakland hospital since her December tonsillectomy, which left her brain dead. (Photo: NORBERT VON DER GROEBEN/LANDOV)