Melissa improving.

On the 7th Jan 2006 at 0050 hours, Melissa was reported to have had a stable day (and had been stable since her operation), coughing and "withdrawing her arm until a few hours ago", yet was planned to extubate anyway. By 0645 hours she was being weaned from the ventilator and was breathing 1:1 with the ventilator and coughing strongly when suctioned. She was recorded as all important signs 'very stable', tolerating feeds, breathing herself, slight movement of her right hand to painful stimuli. At 1830 on this day she was reported to be moving her right arm, apparently trying to reach a tube on her left side. At 2100 she is said to be breathing spontaneously and there is concern she may survive their attempt to kill her. Her parents are lied to that if she can't breathe totally on her own she will not be re-intubated because this shows the damage done is not compatible with life. The truth is that this only means she needed more time on the ventilator for the swelling to subside. That is the purpose of life support, to overcome the critical stage until the patient can support their own breathing. At 2130 she was again recorded as having a stable day and breathing up to the ventilator. On the 8th Jan 2006 at 0700 hours, she was reported as having a stable night. Her right pupil was smaller and reactive. She was breathing up and coughing spontaneously. Making lip smacking sucking movements in response to pain. Flexes her arm to her shoulder. Despite all these responses, the ventilator was turned off at 1000 on the 8th. She breathed spontaneously and was coughing. Eventually, nearly five hours later, she was struggling to maintain breathing herself. At this stage she was given a morphine overdose by Dr Tavey Dorofaeef, paediatric registrar. This did not show her injury was incompatible with life. It showed she was not as badly injured as they thought and she just needed more time on the ventilator. It showed she was fighter and wanted to survive, despite their decision not to help her do so for economic and statistical manipulation reasons. As late as the 9 January, Melissa's notes were still showing incorrectly that she had DAI and retinal haemorrhages in both eyes. Dr Dorofaeff was still stating DAI and retinal haemorrhages in both eyes in documents, after Melissa's death. I think this incorrect information led to pressure to turn off life support, despite Melissa's obvious responses, evidence and signs that she was not as badly injured as they claimed. Dr K,crown specialist paediatrician said that Melissa’s movements were probably seizures, but also says in his report the neurologist did an EEg that showed no obvious seizure activity. He also said that after the 6th of January there was no response to stimuli, despite the fact Melissa was off all sedatives and paralysing agents, but on the 7th and 8th right up to three hours before they turned off life support, the nurses reported and documented that Melissa was responding. It didn't matter to them how much Melissa loved life and fought for it. She didn't have a voice. Dr K still seems to insist there is DAI, despite both neuropathologist’s concluding there wasn’t.