A Virginia family is fighting for the life of their 2-year-old daughter this week after a hospital said she probably is brain dead.
WTVR News 6 reports Mirranda Grace Lawson choked on a piece of popcorn on May 11 and currently is on a ventilator. Doctors at VCU Medical Center said the toddler meets the criteria for brain death, and they want to do a brain test to confirm the prognosis.
However, a brain death diagnosis likely would result in Mirranda’s ventilator being removed, and her family wants to give her a chance to recover. Her parents, Patrick and Alison Lawson, took the hospital to court this week asking for more time for their daughter, according to the report.
On Tuesday, a judge granted the family’s request for more time, the report states. The judge said Mirranda’s case was too sensitive to make a quick decision and delayed the case for 10 days.
Patrick Lawson told CBS 6 that they are working to find a new hospital that will agree to treat Mirranda. He said they have not found one yet, but they are grateful to the judge for giving them more time.
They also asked the judge to require the hospital to provide thyroid treatments, which could help the 2-year-old girl to recover, the Lawsons’ lawyer Phillip Menke said.
“We’re asking them to do a little bit more than that, just to give Mirranda the best shot she has,” Menke said.
“She’s a beautiful little girl,” her father told reporters. “She deserves a chance. That’s all we want is for her to have a chance.”
Her case is the second in the past few months involving a battle between a hospital and the family of a young child.
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Israel Stinson, a 2-year-old from California, was at the center of a legal battle this spring after a hospital threatened to take him off life support against his family’s wishes.
Israel was placed on life support after suffering a severe asthma attack at his California home in April. The toddler’s situation took a turn for the worse when he was transferred from a Sacramento hospital to a Kaiser area hospital on April 12. Less than 24 hours after the hospital admitted Israel, the staff said Israel was “brain dead”; and, against his parent’s wishes, doctors planned to withdraw his life support, according to Life Legal Defense Foundation.
However, several medical experts, including a neurologist and a pediatric specialist, examined Israel and agreed that he does not meet the criteria for brain death, Life Legal said. An EEG also indicated that the toddler shows signs of brain activity, according to the group.
After weeks of legal proceedings, Israel was transferred to another hospital where he currently being treated and given a chance to recover, LifeNews.com.
