LATEST UPDATE: Israel’s parents have filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit, since the hospital plans to take him off life support on Friday, May 20.
UPDATE: Life Legal Defense reports: “THANK YOU for your prayers and your overwhelming support for baby Israel! … We are still making calls and have not yet found a hospital, but there is a bit of GOOD NEWS! … We are thrilled to report that we now have an order in place that will prevent the hospital from withdrawing Israel’s life support through the weekend. Our next hearing is Monday afternoon. Please keep praying that we find a hospital for Israel that will provide him with a breathing tube and a feeding tube. This will allow him to be released to home care.”
Two-year-old Israel Stinson’s mother took him to the hospital during an asthma attack only a few weeks ago. CBS Sacramento reports that, after his arrival at the hospital, Israel “stopped breathing and doctors determined he was brain-dead. … Israel’s parents said he didn’t get oxygen for 40 minutes, causing severe brain injuries. They transferred him to Kaiser Permanente in Roseville where doctors came to the same conclusion.”
Tomorrow, the hospital plans to take Israel off of life support, even though his parents want to give him more time to wake back up, as he has begun to respond. Life Legal Defense Foundation, who is representing Israel’s parents, has released two videos of Israel that show him physically responding to his mother’s voice and touch.
Life Legal reports:
We are asking for your prayers. The baby was declared brain dead on April 14, but a few days ago he started moving in response to his mother talking to him and tickling him.
The family needs to find a hospital that will admit him, even if only for a short time until they can find a long-term facility. We have arranged for a life flight to transport Israel anywhere in the country.
Israel’s parents are hoping to eventually find a long-term care facility in New Jersey. New Jersey does not allow for a declaration of brain death in cases where the family members believe that life continues until the heart stops beating. Many medical experts as well as religious leaders of multiple faiths and denominations dispute brain death.
Israel’s mother explains her son’s situation further, on the family’s GoFundMe page:
While my son has been in the PICU since April 1, his only nutrition has been Dextrose, which I am advised is the equivalent of 7-Up. This has been the case for three weeks now! So Israel is essentially starving and Kaiser refuses to give him the necessary protein, fat and vitamins intravenously. They simply refuse to. …
We have a fabulous attorney who is working around the clock to save our beautiful boy.
God is telling me not to let go.
Israel means apple of God’s eye and he truly is a child of God with a lot of fight in him!
Life Legal Defense is asking for help from the public: “If we can get a neurologist to examine Israel and find that he is not brain dead, that could save his life. … If you know of a doctor, hospital, or other facility that may be able to help, please email info@lldf.org.”
It is unthinkable that a hospital would act so quickly to pull a child off of life support without an adequate opportunity to recover. At Israel’s age, the brain still has much development and growth to work through, and his current responses to his mother are promising. Hospitals should not be allowed to so blatantly and swiftly disregard the will of parents who are fighting to give their children a chance at life.
A week ago, LifeSiteNews spoke to Israel’s parents, Jonee Fonseca and Nathan Stinson, and discovered just how badly Kaiser forced its own choices on this family:
While Israel’s family transferred him to Kaiser with the intent and understanding he would receive continuing care there, the facility has twice conducted studies on him to determine his brain activity without notifying parents, and in the second instance, in direct violation of his mother’s clearly expressed wishes.
“A hospital is somewhere for you to get better,” said Fonseca. “Not somewhere where they just want to get this kid out of his bed.” …
The woman [doctor] promised Fonseca, telling her “mother to mother” nothing would be done while she was gone, Fonseca recalled. The second set of tests took place in Fonseca’s absence, with Fonseca’s mother present documenting the staff’s actions.
Israel’s situation is tragic, but it is not without hope. Life Legal Defense asks for prayers and for information, if anyone is aware of a doctor or facility willing to evaluate or care for Israel.
