The family of a California girl declared brain-dead after complications from tonsil surgery scrambled Sunday to find a new facility to take her in order to keep her on a ventilator, the Associated Press reports.
A judge's ruling will allow Children's Hospital Oakland to remove 13-year-old Jahi McMath from life support at 5 p.m. Monday unless her family appeals, the report says.
Two California care homes have withdrawn offers to accept the teen, the report shows. But Chris Dolan, the family's attorney, said he was waiting to hear back from a New York hospital about a transfer. He wouldn't provide the hospital's name, saying the media attention could hurt the teen’s chances, the report shows.
"It's an organization that believes in life," Dolan told the AP Saturday. "It's our last, last hope."
Dolan did not immediately return a message to the AP seeking comment on Sunday.
The teen underwent a tonsillectomy at Children’s Hospital Oakland on Dec. 9 to treat sleep apnea. But she started bleeding heavily from her mouth and went into cardiac arrest after she awoke from surgery, her family said.
Hospital doctors and an independent pediatric neurologist from Stanford University have determined that she is brain-dead. While the hospital wants to remove her from life support, the family argues that she is still alive.
In an interview Sunday with KRON-TV, Children’s Hospital spokesman Sam Singer said that staff would facilitate a transfer if the family finds an outside physician willing to insert breathing and feeding tubes.
Read more at the Associated Press.