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Skriven 2005-04-09 14:34:00 av VERN HUMPHREY (1:123/140)
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MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Granddaughter yanks grandma's feeding tube
81-year-old neither terminally ill, comatose, nor in vegetative state

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Posted: April 7, 2005
7:33 p.m. Eastern


By Sarah Foster
c 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schiavo in Florida,
an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two
weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her
immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of
starvation and dehydration.

Mae Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose nor in a "vegetative
state," when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient about two weeks
ago upon the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, 36, an
elementary school teacher.


Also upon Gaddy's request and without prior legal authority, since
March 28 Hospice-LaGrange has denied Magouirk normal nourishment or
fluids via a feeding tube through her nose or fluids via an IV. She has
been kept sedated with morphine and ativan, a powerful tranquillizer.

Her nephew, Ken Mullinax, told WorldNetDaily that although Magouirk is
given morphine and ativan, she has not received any medication to keep
her eyes lubricated during her forced dehydration.

"They haven't given her anything like that for two weeks," said
Mullinax. "She can't produce tears."

The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk's specific
wishes, which she set down in a "living will," and without agreement of
her closest living next-of-kin, two siblings and a nephew: A. Byron
McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ga.; Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, Ala.;
and Ruth Mullinax's son, Ken Mullinax.

Magouirk's husband and only child, a son, are both deceased.

In her living will, Magouirk stated that fluids and nourishment were to
be withheld only if she were either comatose or "vegetative," and she
is neither. Nor is she terminally ill, which is generally a requirement
for admission to a hospice.

Magouirk lives alone in LaGrange, though because of glaucoma she relied
on her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, to bring her food and do errands.

Two weeks ago, Magouirk's aorta had a dissection, and she was
hospitalized in the local LaGrange Hospital. Her aortic problem was
determined to be severe, and she was admitted to the intensive care
unit. At the time of her admission she was lucid and had never been
diagnosed with dementia.

Claiming that she held Magouirk's power of attorney, Gaddy had her
transferred to Hospice-LaGrange, a 16-bed unit owned by the same family
that owns the hospital. Once at the hospice, Gaddy stated that she did
not want her grandmother fed or given water.

"Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus," Gaddy
told Magouirk's brother and nephew, McLeod and Ken Mullinax. "She has
glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with
disabilities like these?"

Gaddy's telephone is not in operation and she could not be reached for
comment.

According to Mullinax, his aunt's local cardiologist in LaGrange, Dr.
James Brennan, and Dr. Raed Agel, a highly acclaimed cardiologist at
the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical
Center, determined that her aortic dissection is contained and not
life-threatening at the moment.

Mullinax also states that Gaddy did not hold power of attorney, a fact
he learned from the hospice's in-house legal counsel, Carol Todd.

On March 31, Todd told Ruth and Ken Mullinax during a phone
conversation Georgia law stipulated that Ruth Mullinax and her brother,
A.B. McLeod, were entitled to make any and all decisions for Magouirk.
Ruth Mullinax immediately told Todd to begin administering food and
fluids through an IV and a nasal feeding tube.

Todd had the IV fluids started that evening, but informed the family
that they would have to come to the hospice to sign papers to have the
feeding tube inserted. Once that was done, Magouirk would not be able
to stay at the hospice.

Ken Mullinax recalled that Todd said the only reason Magouirk was in
the hospice in the first place was that the LaGrange Hospital had
failed to exercise due diligence in closely examining the power of
attorney Beth Gaddy said she had, as well as exercising the provisions
of Magouirk's living will.

Todd explained that Gaddy had only a financial power of attorney, not a
medical power of attorney, and Magouirk's living will carefully
provided that a feeding tube and fluids should only be discontinued if
she was comatose or in a "vegetative state" - and she was neither.

Gaddy, however, was not dissuaded. When Ken Mullinax and McLeod showed
up at the hospice the following day, April 1, to meet with Todd and
arrange emergency air transport for Magouirk's transfer to the
University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, Hospice-LaGrange
stalled them while Gaddy went before Troup County, Ga., Probate Court
Judge Donald W. Boyd and obtained an emergency guardianship over her
grandmother.

Under the terms of his ruling, Gaddy was granted full and absolute
authority over Magouirk, at least for the weekend. She took advantage
of her judge-granted power by ordering her grandmother's feeding tube
pulled out, just hours after it had been inserted.

Georgia law requires that a hearing for an emergency guardianship must
be held within three days of its request, and Magouirk's hearing was
held April 4 before Judge Boyd. Apparently, he has not made a final
ruling, but favors giving permanent guardianship power to Gaddy, who is
anxious to end her grandmother's life.

Ron Panzer, president and founder of Hospice Patients Alliance, a
patients' rights advocacy group based in Michigan, told WND that what
is happening to Magouirk is not at all unusual.

"This is happening in hospices all over the country," he said.
"Patients who are not dying - are not terminal - are admitted [to
hospice] and the hospice will say they are terminally ill even if
they're not. There are thousands of cases like this. Patients are given
morphine and ativan to sedate them. If feeding is withheld, they die
within 10 days to two weeks. It's really just a form of euthanasia."

Ken Mullinax does not want that to happen to his aunt. He pointed out
that one of the ironies in this tragedy is that the now-helpless woman
worked for years as a secretary for a prominent local cancer doctor.

"She devoted her whole life to helping those who heal others, and now
she's being denied sustenance for life," he said.

Mullinax said he has begged Gaddy to let him take on full
responsibility for his aunt's care.
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