Family of Brain-Dead Teen Finds Facility for Her

But surgery question still looms
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2013 12:35 PM CST
Family of Brain-Dead Teen Finds Facility for Her
Jahi McMath.   (AP Photo/Courtesy of McMath Family and Omari Sealey, File)

The family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath say they have found a nursing home willing to care for the girl, who was declared brain-dead after a tonsil operation. This time, though, they're keeping the name private after the first nursing home backed out amid heavy publicity, reports AP. If all goes smoothly, the family will move Jahi from Children's Hospital Oakland to the nursing home in short fashion. One major wrinkle still needs to be ironed out, however.

Before she is moved, Jahi will need surgery to insert feeding and breathing tubes. The hospital has so far refused to perform the operations because it maintains that Jahi is "deceased." The family disagrees and has threatened a civil rights suit. The McMaths' lawyer says he hopes the hospital will change its mind after conferring with officials at the new nursing home. In the meantime, the clock is ticking: A judge gave the hospital permission to remove the girl from life support at 5pm Monday. (More Jahi McMath stories.)

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