Earlier this month, I shared the story of the fight to save the life of Gary E. Harvey. His wife, Sara, has been in a battle with the Chemung County Attorney over guardianship and an imminent threat to have her husband’s feeding tube removed.
There is some good news to report, although the fight is hardly over. From the Corning Leader:
Elmira, N.Y. – A comatose Chemung County man at the center of a legal battle over his medical condition will not have his feeding tube removed.
A request by the Chemung County Attorney’s Office to remove Gary Harvey’s total-parenteral-nutrition (TPN) tube was formally dismissed Monday.
The county Attorney’s Office filed the motion to remove the feeding tube in early June but informed state Supreme Court Judge Judith O’Shea late last month it was withdrawing the request, according to a letter from Assistant County Attorney Donald Thomson.
In early June, the St. Joseph’s Hospital Ethics Committee recommended the removal of Harvey’s feeding tube because it was no longer a viable source of nutrition and was causing fungal septicemia, according to an affidavit completed by Rita Gould, the supervisor of Adult Services for the Chemung County Department of Social Services.
Fungal septicemia is an infection that in Harvey was located where the feeding tube was inserted.
Later in June, however, the infection began responding to treatment, and the county withdrew its application to remove the feeding tube.
Harvey’s case is still far from over, said his wife, Sara Harvey, who called Monday “a big victory.”
Remaining open is the issue of a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. According to Thomson’s letter, a DNR order has been issued in the case.
As the article indicates, this doesn’t end the struggle. Ultimately, Sara wants to have her husband home where he can be supported and cared for.
There’s more to the article – Sara invites people to leave comments on the article on the newspaper site. –Stephen Drake
I read this when it was posted, and now I reread it. People do not
realize how this can “hit” them or their family, no matter if someone is disabled or not.
I was reminded of it, when I heard from my younger sibling that
their best friend of 30 years,had collapsed, was in intensive care, lung collapse,
(90% loss of lung function), high
fever and it took days to diagnose.
(Except my sibling noted that pal had black mold in house due to fish pond out front leaking into house and was coughing for 6 months.)
Breathing machine, feeding tube. Days later, diagnosis:
pneumonia due to toxic mold. After 1 week, breathing on own. Probable lung damage.
Who decides? When? And if this person, should there be significant lung damage, has another episode in the medical realm, will the person get the
“Gary Harvey” treatment? Will the spouse be cut out of the picture, i.e. decision making?
Why should someone disabled by any condition, not get the full advantage of medical care as s/he or spouse would want,(one hopes there is a caring not harmful spouse – hmmm, reminds me of a national past story) if person has not given instructions and is not able to communicate? Note: there
are many people who have assistive
breathing devices, oxygen, etc.
And on communication: the individual mentioned in my story,
was kept in heavy sedation, semi-consciousness (why, I have no idea)so there would be a problem of
that individual expressing his wishes.