The family of nine-month-old Tinslee Lewis is fighting to find a place that will help keep her alive, despite a hospital’s recent decision to take the child off of life support.
According to KTXA-TV, a judge granted a temporary restraining order on Sunday evening that will allow the infant to stay on life support until at least November 22 while her family tries to find another facility that will care for her.
Tinslee was born in February with a congenital heart defect that caused her heart to enlarge and also led to lung problems. She has had multiple surgeries and has been on a ventilator for months now.
The hospital told Tinslee’s mother that doctors planned to take her child off life support at the end of October and gave her 10 days to find other arrangements, per a Texas law — often called the “10 Day Rule” — that allows hospitals to remove life support from patients despite families’ wishes.
“A team of Cook Children’s [Hospital] doctors, nurses and staff have given their all to help Tinslee,” a hospital statement said at the time of the decision. “While we believe every child’s life is sacred, we also believe that no child should be sentenced to a life of pain. Removing this beautiful child from mechanical ventilation is a gut-wrenching decision for Cook Children’s physicians and staff, however we feel it is in her best interest to free her from artificial, medical intervention and suffering.”
The statement also claims that Cook’s has reached out to several other hospitals that agree with the assessment.
However, hours ahead of when the baby’s life support was scheduled for removal on Sunday, a county judge blocked the hospital from pulling the plug.
“We secured a temporary restraining order this afternoon, preventing Texas’ Ten Day Law from claiming Baby Tinslee’s life. We have a hearing on the 22nd,” Texas Right to Life attorney Emily Kebodeaux Cook said in a report at the Texan. The state-level pro-life organization — which is assisting mother Trinity Lewis in the matter — has also called on the Lone Star State’s governor and legislators to call a special session to eliminate the “10 Day Rule,” saying that it “forces everyday Texans like the Lewis family to race against the clock to save their loved ones.”
At a press conference following the judge’s decision, the child’s mother reiterated her efforts to find another hospital to take her child, calling her daughter “a fighter” who has already been through “so much” and “always pulled through.”
“We are a family who believes that where there’s just a little air, there’s hope,”family member Beverly Winston added during the press conference.
“Regardless of what your reason, the law is, she deserves a chance to fight for her life,” Winston added. “And she’s got a troop that will help her 100 percent and above.”
But while the restraining order is good news for the family, the search for a new medical facility continues. At the same press conference, Republican state legislator Tan Parker said he wanted to “put out an APB to any institution in this country that believes they’ve got the skill set to be able help baby Tinslee – to address the pulmonary and cardiac issues that she’s facing.”
“We would pray and ask that you would reach out to the good folks here at Cook’s and to the family,” Parker continued, “because that’s really what we’re focused on is to find a solution.” (For more from the author of “Texas Judge Stalls a Hospital’s Decision to Take 9-Month-Old Baby off Life Support Over Mother’s Objections” please click HERE)
Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE
