Jahi’s family wants her declared 'alive again’

[K_Z]

Supernovae, you may be right. Like all health care professionals, I'm sensitive to accusations of mistakes and insinuations of incompetence where there have not been evidence of such. At any rate, it's currently a moot point. Her condition is what it is (legally deceased), and the new court filings are aimed at reversing her legally deceased status-- regardless of what caused it.

One of the things that I'm not sure I understand is that this first document is titled "memorandum regarding court's jurisdiction to hear petition for determination that Jahi McMath is not brain dead". Is this an appeal? A request for a hearing? What legal weight does a memorandum have? Does the court have to respond? Latasha Winkfield (mom) is still listed as plaintiff, and Children's Hospital Oakland, along with Dr David Durand (chief of staff) and Does 1-100 are listed as defendants.

The second filing is from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland "brief in support of finality of this court's judgement". That both documents were filed and made public yesterday indicate there has been some kind of ongoing communication between the family and Children's.

It seems that, if I read these correctly, the current "battle" is not yet over whether or not Jahi is dead, or shows signs of being "alive", but over whether or not Alameda county courts even have jurisdiction to begin to do something with the request for a hearing. Here's a link to my post with both of the court filings:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...declared-alive-again’&p=11044250#post11044250

 

[Donjeta]

OK so i'm reading the petition and it seems that Dolan is not necessarily claiming that Fisher was wrong about Jahi being brain dead at the time or disputing the evidence Fisher cited to arrive at that conclusion, he just claims that it was reversible and she no longer is...? Am I getting this correctly?

I would be more inclined to believe that the hospital faked evidence or made a false diagnosis than believe that there is a chance of a meaningful recovery after having brain circulation shut off for two weeks.



anyway I don't think he's right in claiming that there have been no other cases of brain dead pediatric patients maintained on life support for so long, we have cited cases here that have been maintained for several years.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

from experience, experts are used in so many cases to basically find some way to substantiate what the hiring party wants to prove, so I take that with a grain of salt. Like statistics - you can manipulate them to say whatever you want really. IMO.

 

[katydid23]

I would like to see the courts send several highly regarded, unbiased, neurological experts to her bedside, to test her brain at this time.

 

[K_Z]

Nor would Dolan say who is paying for Jahi’s stay. He says the latest legal maneuver is not about money, but he acknowledged that “she would be eligible for the same state benefits as every other person not brain-dead on a ventilator, and who gets full medical care.”

He added that the family wanted Jahi to be looked after in California “and not have somebody pull the ventilator on her if she is in the hospital.”

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/10/jahi_mcmath_s_family_want_teen_declared_alive.html

What continues to occur to me is "why" the family presumably feels it is necessary for Jahi to be in an acute care hospital at all? Let alone a very expensive acute care ICU. Most chronically ventilator dependent patients are discharged to community care fairly rapidly, once stable, either for care at home by family and home health care providers, or into long term care facilities, if the family is unwilling or unable to provide care at home. She would not be a candidate for re-admission to an acute care hospital if she were cared for at home, so perhaps that is what they mean by "having someone pull her vent off in a hospital." But perhaps that is just the issue-- when her body develops a serious pneumonia or other complication, the family wants her to be re-admitted to an ICU for care perpetually. IDK.

There is nothing preventing them from caring for her at home, or pursuing placement at a long term care facility-- except probably money, of course, and perhaps their own willingness to take on the enormous, round the clock burden of total care of a vent dependent and unconscious patient. That is a never-ending, herculean task-- but a task that many other people do take on, for the sake of their loved ones. I also think the family could probably find a hospice or long term care setting that would provide the custodial care, if they wanted to do this.

Home care is clearly the least expensive option for anyone. I would think that some of the charities that support the family would be willing and able to help them set up to provide custodial care for her at home, in whichever state the family decides to make their home. They have a lot of supporters, so surely it would be possible to line up home help volunteers who could be trained to care for Jahi's body's needs. I really don't understand the compulsion to keep her in an ICU setting, other than the "social/ cultural/political" reasons created by the family. Lots and lots of families have ventilator dependent loved ones at home.

I still feel like this family is more deeply entrenched in denial than ever before, and to me, that's the saddest part of this whole saga. No amount of court battles will bring Jahi back. And no amount of money will, either.

But maybe this whole court process is part of their grieving and healing needs-- they need to chase every avenue to the end, rage and battle everyone again and again, before they can finally face reality and move forward. IDK. It's just so sad. I feel like this upcoming court battle is just ripping off a big nasty scab, letting the virtual wound of their grief and anger become infected all over again.

 

[K_Z]

Jahi McMath: Attorney shows video he says proves Oakland girl moves feet, hands at mother's commands

The attorney for the family of Jahi McMath showed a video to reporters Thursday of the 13-year-old brain dead girl that he says proves she moves in response to her mother's voice and therefore is alive. At his San Francisco office, attorney Christopher Dolan showed the video to a small group of reporters, saying it is evidence that the Oakland teenager is showing signs of life.

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_26651739/jahi-mcmath-attorney-shows-video-he-says-proves

**This link contains a picture of Jahi which is reported to have been taken today, 10-2-14.

Also surfacing again, and quoted, is Phillip Defina, who we have discussed many times before. Presumably he is one of the family's experts. He is not a respected member of the medical community, and has been fired from at least one medical center in the recent past. He started his own brain institute. His credentials and methods are considered to be controversial within the mainstream medical community. He is a PsyD-- not a neurologist or medical doctor.

"It shows she can rapidly respond to a command ... it's not a fluke," said Phillip DeFina, the chairman of the International Brain Research Foundation, which performed the tests along with neurologists.

Phillip Defina:

http://www.ethicalpsychology.com/2012/01/meadowlands-hospital-neuroscientist.html

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/meadowlands_hospital_neuroscie.html

 

[i.b.nora]

I believe that much of the current hullabaloo surrounding the Jahi case has to do with California Proposition 46, Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Cap and Drug Testing of Doctors which is on the California State ballot for November 2014. It was written by and is being backed by trial lawyers including Christopher B Dolan ($75,000). The television ads I have seen in favor of the proposition fail to mention that it lifts the cap on lawsuits and the ads mostly concentrate on how it would require drug and alcohol testing of doctors and reporting of positive tests to the California Medical Board, require health care practitioners to report any doctor suspected of drug or alcohol impairment or medical negligence, require health care practitioners to consult the state prescription drug history database before prescribing certain controlled substances, etc., etc.

You can read about the initiative here:
http://ballotpedia.org/California_P...wsuits_Cap_and_Drug_Testing_of_Doctors_(2014)

I don't know how the pieces all fit together but I am certain there is some sort of connection.

"Increase the state's cap on non-economic damages that can be assessed in medical negligence lawsuits to over $1 million from the current cap of $250,000."

 

[popsicle]

Attorney Chris Dolan said doctors at the non-profit International Brain Research Foundation have found signs of brain functions after running a series of tests on the girl at Rutgers University last week.
....

DeFina said an examination of Jahi also revealed that her brain was still intact, rather than "liquefying" as would be expected if a brain-dead body was kept on life-support for many months.

DeFina also said brain scans showed electrical activity, and other tests showed blood flowing to the brain

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/26...ing?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[K_Z]

Updates to articles are now including the names of Attorney Dolan's team of experts.

Tests and examinations of Jahi have been performed at Rutgers University in New Jersey with brain researchers and neurologists reviewing and performing them, Dolan said. Those working with the International Brain Research Foundation include Elena Labkovsky, who performed an EEG on Jahi, Cuban neurologist Dr. Calixto Machado and Dr. Charles Prestigiacomo, chair of the department of neurological surgery at Rutgers.

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_26651739/jahi-mcmath-attorney-shows-video-he-says-proves

Dr. Prestigiacomo is also on the Board of Directors for Philip Defina's International Brain Research Institute.

http://www.ibrfinc.org/bio_charles_prestigiacomo.htm

Elena Labkovsky is a PhD psychologist, specializing in mental health of adolescents.

http://www.afgfamily.com/index.php?rmm=Meet the Staff

I have been working in the mental health field for over 20 years. My areas of interest and specialization include psychological and neuropsychological evaluation and using neurofeedback techniques in treating and correcting symptoms, behaviors and other disruptive neurological conditions caused by learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression and other mood disorders. Additionally, I have extensive experience working with children and adolescents with development delays such as Autism and Asperger's disorder as well as attachment disorders, sleep disorders, Tourette's syndrome and other Tic Disorders.

One publication by Dr. Calixto Machado:

http://www.neurology.org/content/64/11/1938.abstract

In 1968, publication of the Harvard committee’s report concerning “irreversible coma” established a paradigm for defining death by neurologic criteria (brain death [BD]). Five years earlier, Dr. Guy Alexandre, a Belgian surgeon, had not only adopted closely similar diagnostic criteria for BD but also applied those criteria in performing the first organ transplant from a brain-dead donor—a procedure many of his colleagues considered ethically unacceptable. To put those events into present-day perspective, the author reviewed the proceedings of a Ciba Symposium held in London in 1966 at which Alexandre introduced his pioneering view, obtaining information and documents from Alexandre and others who attended that meeting. Comparing Alexandre’s approach with the Harvard report and later advances helps in understanding how both defining death by brain criteria and transplanting organs from a brain-dead donor have become morally tolerable today.

 

[K_Z]

This article states Jahi is not in the NJ hospital ICU any more, but being cared for in a private home.

Dolan said the goal was to “get the mantle of death off of her” so that Jahi can return to California from New Jersey, where she is being cared for by her mother, stepfather and sister at a private home.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Videos-show-Mom-coaxing-Jahi-McMath-moving-5797622.php

According to the lead in picture in this article, Jahi had an MRI 9-26-14, if that is her image in the picture.

He showed off the videos to reporters in his Market Street office, in a presentation that featured two large TV screens and a phone hookup with the head of a brain research foundation in New Jersey who took part in tests on Jahi at Rutgers University medical school.

 

[K_Z]

I have to throw in this comment, however morbid some might find it.

One thing Jahi's case has demonstrated, IMO, is that perhaps we should consider further liberalizing the guidelines on who can be a whole heart donor. Typically, victims of cardiac arrest are not good donor candidates for intact heart donation, as the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and damaged during the cardiac arrest and resuscitation efforts. (That would be less than optimal for a debilitated heart transplant recipient.) We don't know to what extent Jahi was in cardiac arrest while at CHO-- what rhythms she experienced, and how prolonged the efforts were to provide cardiac resuscitation. (Or whether she could have been considered as a heart donor.)

However, what we DO know is that her heart, the heart of a relatively healthy 13 year old, has continued to beat pretty well in the native body for 10 months with somatic support, following cardiac arrest and brain death. That say to me that perhaps we should consider liberalizing the guidelines for cardiac arrest donors, especially young children and young adults. This is one gift of information that Jahi's situation has provided to the medical community, IMO-- rarely, if ever, do we have the opportunity to observe a situation like this one.

There are lots and lots of people on transplant lists, and most, IMO, would take their chances with a less than perfect heart. We could potentially increase the supply of donor hearts available by liberalizing some of the guidelines for donation from victims of short duration cardiac arrest. IMO.

 

[SwampMama]

This article states Jahi is not in the NJ hospital ICU any more, but being cared for in a private home.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Videos-show-Mom-coaxing-Jahi-McMath-moving-5797622.php

According to the lead in picture in this article, Jahi had an MRI 9-26-14, if that is her image in the picture.

Interesting that she is being cared for in a private home. The hospital she had gone to was supposedly caring for her free of charge. I suspect that her family and the hospital/hospital staff had difficulties in dealing with the expectations of the family. Her family has been less than gracious or tactful in dealing with anyone who doesn't do what they want so i would not be surprised to see that the hospital and her family had parted ways.

In the past we have seen her family publicly post the private # of a CHO adminstrator/doctor telling people to call him, holding disruptive demonstrations outside Children's hospital, aggressively demanding that Jahi be given a diploma from her school, etc. They seem quite difficult to deal with when they don't get their way.

I wonder what prompted the move from the hospital. Did Jahi's mother get mad and remove her or did the hospital come to the decision that they had done all they could for Jahi and released her?

Now I see the urgency for them to have her declared alive so that the family can receive financial assistance for her care. Their donations have pretty much come to a halt. Most people don't care to donate money for Jahi to get manicures and her mother to buy designer purses and such.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[al66pine]

Updates to articles are now including the names of Attorney Dolan's team of experts.....
One publication by Dr. Calixto Machado:
http://www.neurology.org/content/64/11/1938.abstract

. sbm

more info from header re ^link^:
"

1. Calixto Machado, MD, PhD

+Show Affiliations

• From the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana, Cuba.

• Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. C. Machado, Cuban Commission for the Determination and Certification of Death, Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Apartado Postal 4268, Ciudad de La Habana 10400, Cuba; e-mail: braind@infomed.sld.cu

doi: 10.1212/01.WNL.0000163515.09793.CB Neurology June 14, 2005 vol. 64 no. 11 1938-1942."


K_Z or med folks --
Help us understand ^ this info^ and how, if at all, it is relevant to lawsuit or Dr. M's cred's as expert witness re Jahi.
FYI- Basing this only on the abstract and the 2 comments to article.

1. Dr M. authored article in peer-reviewed med pub, ~10 yrs ago. .....................................Ok, fine.
2. The content is (IIUC, more or less) a retrospective or historical look-back
on how diff med groups/conferences, etc proposed diff criteria for BD. ...............................So???
Dr. M said (IIUC, more or less) the 1968 Harvard Criteria for BD did not give approp credit to
1966 Ciba Symposium finding/proposals re BD. ...............................................................So???

Is article a grudge match about who gets credit/bragging rights re developing BD criteria, used in USA today?

IOW, is Dr M's linked article relevant to the lawsuit, other a point helping to establish his cred's as a expert witness -
in showing he authored article in med peer-reviewed journal?..................................................................................Yes or No?

Thx in adv. from the most medically ignorant member of W/S.

 

[al66pine]

Updates to articles are now including the names of Attorney Dolan's team of experts.....
"Tests and examinations of Jahi have been performed at Rutgers University in New Jersey with brain researchers and neurologists reviewing and performing them, Dolan said. Those working with the International Brain Research Foundation include... Cuban neurologist Dr. Calixto Machado and ...." http://www.mercurynews.com/science/c...he-says-proves
One publication by Dr. Calixto Machado:
http://www.neurology.org/content/64/11/1938.abstract

sbm

Sorry, have not yet read all the MSM linked here.
Is Dr.M. licensed to practice med in US?
What states?
So Dr. M's affiliation is w IBRF? Not w Rutgers?
Thx in adv.

 

[K_Z]

al66pine, the best I can ascertain from my brief research of Dr. Machado is that he appears to be somewhat in the mindset of Dr. Paul Byrne-- that organ donation is a not-so-good thing, and that diagnosis of brain death and subsequent organ donation is problematic. That's JMO of what I've read an interpreted of his professional opinions, so take that FWIW, lol! He is a neurologist, with sub specialty areas in persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious states (which he believes should be re-named to "Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome" (see his article on Vegetative states as a pejorative). Also note he has an article about responsiveness to a mother's voice in comatose individuals.

He has a number of connections to organizations which question the definitions of brain death, and has authored publications in scholarly journals (and biased journals) as to his professional views on this. And that's pretty much okay with me-- he appears to be an "outlier", as is Dr. Byrne, in his opinions.

Here are some more links to help get a better "feel" for the philosophies of Dr. Machado. It's not surprising that he might be part of a loosely knit group of individuals who hold counter-culture opinions, as this is what is necessary for Atty Dolan and the family to mount any kind of offense to revoking the death finding of the courts, IMO.

http://www.changesurfer.com/BD/

And some of his many publications: (Scroll past the map for a list, and also note that he and Defina are co-authors on the first 2013 journal article).

http://www.biomedexperts.com/Profile.bme/861718/Calixto_Machado

2013: Yazmina Machado-Ferrer; Robert Melillo; Frederick R Carrick; Mauricio Chinchilla; Phillip Defina; Mario Estévez; Adrián Hernández-Cruz; Gerry Leisman; Calixto Machado; Y Machado
Heart rate variability for assessing comatose patients with different Glasgow Coma Scale scores.
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology 2013;124(3):589-97.

2012: Calixto Machado; Y Machado; Grisel Pérez-Hoz; Jesús Pérez-Nellar; Rafael Rodríguez; Maylén Carballo; Frederick R Carrick; Mauricio Chinchilla; Mario Estévez; Marcia Fleitas; Alejandro Pando
Vegetative state is a pejorative term.
NeuroRehabilitation 2012;31(4):345-7.

2010: E R Cuspineda Bravo; Y Iturria; J C Praderes; L Melie; P A Valdés; T Virues; Calixto Machado; L Valdés Urrutia
Noninvasive multimodal neuroimaging for Rasmussen encephalopathy surgery: simultaneous EEG-fMRI recording.
Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) 2010;41(3):159-65.

2009: E R Cuspineda; Calixto Machado; T Virues; E Martínez-Montes; A Ojeda; P A Valdés; J Bosch; L Valdes
Source analysis of alpha rhythm reactivity using LORETA imaging with 64-channel EEG and individual MRI.
Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) 2009;40(3):150-6.

2009: Calixto Machado; Julius Korein
Neuropathology of brain death in the modern transplant era.
Neurology 2009;72(11):1028; author reply 1028.

2009: Calixto Machado; Julius Korein
Persistent vegetative and minimally conscious states.
Reviews in the neurosciences 2009;20(3-4):203-20.

2009: Calixto Machado; Julius Korein
Irreversibility: cardiac death versus brain death.
Reviews in the neurosciences 2009;20(3-4):199-202.

2009: Calixto Machado; Rafael Rodríguez; Maylen Carballo; Julius Korein; Carlos Sanchez-Catasus; Jesús Pérez; Gerry Leisman
Brain anatomy, cerebral blood flow, and connectivity in the transition from PVS to MCS.
Reviews in the neurosciences 2009;20(3-4):177-80.

2009: Calixto Machado; Gerry Leisman
Towards an effective definition of death and disorders of consciousness.
Reviews in the neurosciences 2009;20(3-4):147-50.

2007: Calixto Machado; Julius Korein; Y Ferrer; Liana Portela; M de la C García; M Chinchilla; Y Machado; Y Machado; José M Manero
The Declaration of Sydney on human death.
Journal of medical ethics 2007;33(12):699-703.

2007: Elena Cuspineda; Calixto Machado; Lídice Galán; Eduardo Aubert; Miguel A Alvarez; Francis Llopis; Liana Portela; M García; José M Manero; Yoel Avila
QEEG prognostic value in acute stroke.
Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) 2007;38(3):155-60.

2007: Calixto Machado; Julius Korein; Eduardo Aubert; Jorge Bosch; Miguel A Alvarez; R Rodríguez; Pedro Valdés; Liana Portela; M Garcia; N Pérez; M Chinchilla; Y Machado; Y Machado
Recognizing a mother's voice in the persistent vegetative state.
Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) 2007;38(3):124-6.

2007: Calixto Machado; Julius Kerein; Yazmina Ferrer; Liana Portela; Maria de la C García; José M Manero
The concept of brain death did not evolve to benefit organ transplants.
Journal of medical ethics 2007;33(4):197-200.

2005: Calixto Machado; Orlando D García; Joel Gutiérrez; Liana Portela; María C García
Heart rate variability in comatose and brain-dead patients.
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology 2005;116(12):2859-60; author reply 2860.

2004: Calixto Machado; Elena Cuspineda; Pedro Valdés; Trinidad Virues; Francis Llopis; Jorge Bosch; Eduardo Aubert; Eraida Hernández; Alejandro Pando; Miguel A Alvarez; Esperanza Barroso; Lídice Galán; Yoel Avila
Assessing acute middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke by quantitative electric tomography.
Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) 2004;35(3):116-24.

2004: Julius Korein; Calixto Machado
Brain death: updating a valid concept for 2004.
Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2004;550():1-14.

 

[K_Z]

sbm

Sorry, have not yet read all the MSM linked here.
Is Dr.M. licensed to practice med in US?
What states?
So Dr. M's affiliation is w IBRF? Not w Rutgers?
Thx in adv.

IDK if he is licensed to practice in the U.S. As far as this case, Jahi McMath is legally dead, so I guess it doesn't really matter if he is licensed or not.

As far as Rutgers, there is perhaps an encouraged assumption that the testing of Jahi took place in the Rutgers Hospital-- which may be an incorrect assumption.

It is not outside the realm of possibility that a major university has "other" research facilities equipped with MRI and other diagnostic equipment (do they have a veterinary school?). MRI machines are routinely driven along highways in big tractor trailers-- so we can't assume that just because she had an MRI "at" Rutgers, that this testing took place within the hospital. Note that in the pictures from Dolan's media press conference, the bottom of the MRI image in a red box says "not for medical imaging" or something similar. Just because Dolan flashed a picture of a radiographic image up on the screen in his office for the media doesn't mean it is actually Jahi's image.

There has to be a LOT of independent evaluation of her state before I will believe what Dolan is trying to sell. As far as the hand/foot motions he showed in the video to media, we, and the media puppets invited, have NOTHING to compare them to.

It could be that her body makes random spinal hand and foot movements every few seconds to minutes all day long. Timing a video with the mother encouraging movement to epsiodes of hand/ foot movement could make it APPEAR that Jahi is reacting to her mother's voice, when in fact, her body may make random movements very often. We just don't know until and unless there is INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION of everything Dolan is claiming by court certified impartial experts. Until that happens, I am highly skeptical of anything claimed by Dolan and the family. I believe this is ultimately all about $$. JMO.

 

[katydid23]

I would never want to spend my 'life' laying in bed 24hours a day, year after year, hooked up to life support. What is the point? Are they really 'saving' her life. Or are they prolonging her 'nothingness.' Jahi has no life to speak of. jmo

 

[Donjeta]

OK well if Defina is involved in this I already don't believe anything... didn't he and his pals decide that Jahi wasn't brain dead and they could cure her long before ever examining her?

The brain of the child who was brain dead for two decades hadn't liquefied, it was a calcified mass, IIRC.

 

[al66pine]

Thx ever so much K_Z for your response re my comment.

So, we know DrM authored or co-authored many articles in some legit/mainstream and some not-so-medically mainstream med prof pubs.
I'm still wondering about whether they are or are not relevant to Dr. M's status (or non-status) as a neurologist re BD.

. sbm
more info from header re ^link^:....
K_Z or med folks --
Help us understand ^ this info^ and how, if at all, it is relevant to lawsuit or Dr. M's cred's as expert witness re Jahi.
FYI- Basing this only on the abstract and the 2 comments to article.

IOW, again, is Dr M's linked article relevant to the lawsuit, other a point helping to establish his cred's as a expert witness -
in showing he authored article in med peer-reviewed journal?..................................................................................Yes or No?

Thx in adv. from the most medically ignorant member of W/S.

 

[K_Z]

OK well if Defina is involved in this I already don't believe anything... didn't he and his pals decide that Jahi wasn't brain dead and they could cure her long before ever examining her?

The brain of the child who was brain dead for two decades hadn't liquefied, it was a calcified mass, IIRC.

We should also remember that Defina's decades long professional partner, his "MD colleague", Jonathan Fellus, had his medical license revoked by the New Jersey medical board this summer. So he wasn't able to be part of the team of experts evaluating and reporting on Jahi's condition. That means they had to find another MD expert. As Dr. Byrne is a neonatologist (and not really qualified to do sophisticated neurological evaluations), they needed a neurologist. It is VERY telling that on the east coast of the U.S., with literally dozens of highly rated University research medical centers, that they could not find ONE single mainstream pediatric or adult neurologist to conduct the testing and evaluations. They also do not appear to have tried to seek out independent evaluations-- favoring outliers that espouse their ideas that Jahi is merely brain "damaged", and not brain dead, and reject mainstream diagnostic criteria of brain death.

I'm also pretty puzzled about why the Russian trained lady psychologist, Elena Labkovsky, was pulled in to do an EEG. There are FAR more qualified providers to perform that kind of testing, and there is nothing I can find in her professional history to suggest why she was chosen to do (and presumably interpret) the EEG. She specializes in counseling adolescents with ADHD, autism, emotional disorders, tics, etc. She's clearly an intelligent lady, but her professional history has nothing at all to do with evaluating brain death. Just sayin'.