All life matters: Jahi McMath’s journey
By Michelle Malkin
MichelleMalkin.com
“Jahi McMath is ALIVE.”
The very
first column I filed in 2014 exposed the plight
of a beautiful young girl, the same age as my
daughter, whom medical experts declared “brain dead”
after a routine tonsillectomy gone wrong. Are you
ready for the rest of the story?
Doctors told Jahi’s mom, Nailah Winkfield, that her
child’s organs would “shut down” and her brain would
“liquefy” if kept on life support. Hostile hospital
administrators in Oakland moved to pull the plug on
Jahi. Medical officials callously referred to Jahi
as “dead, dead, dead” and dismissed the child as a
“body.” Smug critics mocked and hounded the family
to give up and let go. Jahi’s life, they concluded,
was worthless.
But the experts and naysayers were wrong.
As Winkfield recently described in an open letter to
supporters, “Jahi is physically stable. All of her
organs are fully functional [and] her skin is
flawless.” After inspecting her latest medical
records, two respected neurologists testified in
sworn declarations that she is not brain dead.
Video released by her family shows her moving
her arm and foot on command. A recent MRI showed
severe brain damage, “but it also shows brain
structure and blood flow,” Winkfield noted.
“I was told previously that it would be liquefied or
have holes in it because it had been without blood
flow and oxygen for 9 months,” she recounted. “That
is not the case with my daughter. Every person is
different and every person heals differently.”
One year after callous and overconfident members of
the medical and media establishments wrote Jahi’s
life off, the now 14-year-old girl is surrounded by
the love and care of her mom, dedicated medical
professionals, and vigilant advocates for life.
Lawyer
Christopher Dolan continues to battle the state
of California to reverse the “brain death”
designation in court. Volunteers maintain a
Facebook page to share updates on Jahi’s
progress. And with the help of the Terri Schiavo
Life & Hope Network, Life Legal Defense, Angela
Clemente & Associates, The Wrongful Death & Injury
Institute, New Beginnings and others who helped
transfer her away from death-wish docs in
California, Jahi will mark Christmas this year at a
long-term care facility in New Jersey.
Bobby Schindler, head of
Terri’s Network, told me this week that Jahi’s
family “has been blessed with countless numbers of
well-wishers, letting the family know they are
constantly praying for Jahi.” The detractors and
haters are still out there. But as Schindler
observes, “Unfortunately, this is nothing new – my
family experienced the same with [sister] Terri. In
fact, it’s been almost ten years since Terri’s
death, and we continue to receive similar types of
mean-spirited comments.”
Thankfully for society’s most vulnerable members who
are medically dependent, disabled, incapacitated, or
potentially facing life-threatening situations,
Bobby Schindler and Nailah Winkfield are keeping the
faith.
“Jahi’s life is worth the fight,” her mom insists.
And that noble fight deserves far more support from
those who’ve been sloganeering recently about how
Lives Matter.
“The Bible tells us of Mary’s great joy at Christ’s
conception and birth,” Schindler reflects. “It also
tells us of her great sadness at his unnatural
suffering and death. This Christmas let us pray that
God’s will be done in 2015 for all his children –
those in the womb and those judged not worthy of end
of life care and protection.”
In an age where suicide advocate Brittany Maynard
earned widespread praise and admiration for giving
up on life, Terri and Jahi’s families stand as
powerful seasonal reminders about my true heroes:
those who fight tirelessly for the sanctity of life,
no matter how hard the journey.
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2014