A Murder In Progress At Hospice LaGrange

[MMMMMM]

An 81-year-old woman: NOT comatose, NOT terminally ill, NOT in a vegetative state--is being starved/dehydrated to death--in direct contradiction to her living will--right now at Hospice Lagrange.



"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.

"If she would just give us a chance to keep Aunt Mae alive, that's all we ask," he said. "They [Beth and her husband, Dennis Gaddy] have a family and Beth is a teacher, and it was just getting to be a lot of trouble. But I'm the caregiver for my mom, and Aunt Mae could move in with us. We'll buy another house with a bedroom and we'll take care of her. She can move in with us once she can leave the hospital."

But her health becomes more precarious by the hour. Her vital signs are still good, but since admission to hospice she has not been lucid – "but who would be since nourishment and fluids have been denied since March 28," Mullinax remarked.

Attorney Carol Todd could not be reached for comment; a message on her voicemail said she would not be gone the entire week of April 4. Hospice-LaGrange did not return phone calls. "

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=43688

[BCPVP]

And you wonder why diability groups were opposed to the execution of Terri Schiavo... [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

This part struck me:
[ QUOTE ]

"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."

[/ QUOTE ]

scary stuff....

[MMMMMM]

"Thursday, April 07, 2005
Please Help My Aunt Mae!

A guest update by Ken Mullinax.

Nothing is settled in this case until my Aunt Mae is given nourishment and fluids! This is far from settled and far from over. The doctors did not meet Monday...that is Bull!

They finally spoke on Wednesday and again today AND STILL NOTHING IS SETTLED OR DECIDED BETWEEN THEM. Every day they vacillate, my Aunt Mae grows weaker and closer to death.

Sure, we attended an emergency guardianship petition hearing before Judge Boyd on Monday, April 4. However, the Judge would barely allow our attorney, Jack Kirby, to speak and would not even allow our attorney to cross examine Mae Magourik's attending Physician, Dr. Stout, so as to ask the doctor if he would agree that there are alternative treatments to a dissected aorta which are not surgery (my Mom has had the same condition of a dissected aorta as her sister Mae and we know that Mae CAN BE successfully treated without surgery) but Probate Judge Boyd WOULD NOT allow our attorney to ask that question. Even though Beth Gaddy's forces state that the dissected aorta is the major reason they put her in Hospice.

So although we have a sort-of compromise, I am not holding out any hope especially since two of the three probate court appointed cardiologists are from the small clannish town of LaGrange, Ga.

This Judge has been NO HELP and has acted hostile and indifferent to our actions to keep my Aunt Mae alive. And what if the two LaGrange Ga. doctors rule against my Aunt? Should we just lay back and allow her to be WITHHELD NOURISHMENT AND FLUIDS? Heck No!!!

So although this Probate Judge is a slick talker, he has definitely not been on the side of life in this matter...however that is just my opinion. Judge Boyd has NEVER ATTENDED LAW SCHOOL yet he is a Probate Judge who has the power of life and death in these matters. But Ga. Law allows a probate judge to be a non lawyer and that is just not right. That issue is my next cause!!! So remember when you talk to this Judge Boyd...he is a slick politician...he runs for election...he may seem nice and say the right things however the one right thing he could say is that he is going to enforce Mae Magouirk's Living Will stipulations and make sure she has substantial nourishment and fluids to keep her alive....

Remember: MAE IS NOT TERMINAL...COMATOSE OR IN A VEGETATIVE STATE SO WHY IS JUDGE BOYD ALLOWING HER TO STAY IN HOSPICE???

In closing, examine the contradictions in Judge Boyd's own court writing which bears his signature. In Boyd's petition for the appointment of a temporary emergency guardian for my Aunt Mae, he writes, in "Probate Court Estate Ruling 138-05" the following:
"That a clear and substantial risk of death and or serious physical injury can occur to the proposed ward "Mae Magouirk" UNLESS she stays in HOSPICE at West Georgia Health Systems."

A RISK OF DEATH WILL OCCUR TO HER UNLESS SHE STAYS IN HOSPICE? Is he whacky or what??? Hospice is a home for the dying...Hospice is death. Who does he think he is fooling?? Now do you see what we are going against with this man and now do you she why I will not sit on my hands while these doctors he has appointed finally get around to acting.

EVERY DAY THESE DOCTORS WAIT TO DECIDE, MY AUNT MAE INCHES CLOSER TO DEATH!!!

Act now....I so need everyone to stay on these folks. The light of your involvement and public SCRUTINY will embarrass these folks who embrace the culture of death and thus will allow us to give Mae the proper medical care she deserves.

ACT NOW...KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THEM...DON'T FALL FOR THEIR PROPAGANDA. They want you to feel this is over....THE HELL IT IS!

Ken Mullinax
Nephew of Mae Magouirk"

http://straightupwsherri.blogspot.co...nt-mae_07.html

[JoshuaD]

I'd take a gun and go in there and get my aunt. This is heart-breaking.

[BCPVP]

I'm still confused as to how Gaddy holds power of attorney. Also, what good is a living will if it can be ignored willy-nilly?

[Dead]

You're not a libertarian.

You're anti-choice and pro-war.

Maybe you're one of those small-L libertarians, or more likely just a REPUBLICAN pretending to be a Libertarian, because that's the chic thing to be these days. Socially liberal(except you're not) and fiscally conservative, oh goodie.

[InchoateHand]

Ativan is a "powerful tranquilizer?"

Really, and here I was thinking it was classed as a sedative-hypnotic. Silly pharmacy school.

Powerful? Sure as powerful as anything else--ie, dose dependant.

So if a glaring, easily edited FACTUAL error is about a paragraph in, how am I supposed to read the breathless, sensationalized, and most likely heavily altered "news" that surrounds it.

You need to get better sources, and not believe everything/the first thing you read.

[Dead]

Check out the source.

WorldNetDaily. This seems to be MMMMMM's new favorite source. I would wipe my ass with it, but the edges are too sharp.

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
You're anti-choice...

[/ QUOTE ]

What the hell are you talking about, Dead? Did you even read the article?

The woman LEFT A LIVING WILL. That Living Will expressed HER CHOICE. And now she is BEING KILLED AGAINST HER CHOICE, and AGAINST THE INSTRUCTIONS IN HER LIVING WILL.

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to get better sources, and not believe everything/the first thing you read.


[/ QUOTE ]

After searching the internet, I could not find anything to contradict this report or source.

If you can, please feel free to post it.

As a matter of fact, I could not find a great deal on the internet about this story at all. So the source selection is rather limited.

But you'd rather pick on some small detail than be concerned about a woman who is quite possibly being flat-out murdered--or about the statement by an outside advocate for a Patients' group that this sort of thing goes on not infrequently in hospices around the country.

Guess you and Dead are more agenda-driven/partisan than actually concerned about real things.

And by the way, the matrer of Mae Magouirk isn't even a partisan issue. It has low publicity. So you are both making a mistake to look at it in such a light.