The family of Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old girl who has been declared brain-dead after a tonsillectomy gone wrong, is hoping to transfer her to a nursing facility that is willing to continue to care for her, the Associated Press reports.
In order for the teen to be accepted at a nursing home, doctors at Children's Hospital Oakland would have to surgically insert breathing and feeding tubes that would allow her body to continue to function, Christopher Dolan, lawyer for Jahi's mother, told AP.
"Our position is, 'You don't want her, that's clear.' … We are trying to find somebody who will see her other than a dead piece of meat and will treat her, help us get her out of there and into the arms of someone who will care for her rather than putting her in a body bag," said Dolan.
Dolan wouldn't disclose the name of the facility but did say that it is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and that it is not equipped to perform surgeries.
The case has received national attention as the argument has become about the end of life. Jahi underwent tonsil surgery at Children's Hospital this month to treat sleep apnea. Her family said that once she awoke from the operation, she started bleeding heavily from her mouth and then went into cardiac arrest.
According to the doctors at Children's Hospital, Jahi's life ended once brain activity stopped, and that they are no longer legally responsible for caring for her. The family argues that they don't have a clear assessment as to what went wrong. Jahi's mother took the case to court and won an independent evaluation.
The evaluation, which was conducted yesterday, concluded that Jahi has no facial reaction, brain activity or brain stem activity. The judge then ruled that Jahi could be taken off life support on Dec. 30.
Dolan said he has asked the hospital for cooperation in preparing Jahi to be moved but had not heard back as of Thursday afternoon, AP reports.
Read more at Associated Press.