Court Update

I know that it’s been a long time since I have updated you on where our fight for justice stands.  This was not my choice.  The defense has been doing all they can think of to avoid doing what is right.  They were trying to impose a “Gag” order on our being able to share their newest position; I can only believe that they are fearful that if the public found out what it was that their “pristine image” could be tarnished.

Today the court ordered that we cannot discuss any monetary aspect of the case.  We totally agree with this.  But we do not have to remain silent about the position they are now taking.  And that is that the boys and I are not Amanda’s legal next of kin.  Their argument is that Jazmine is Amanda’s only next of kin.  Records indicate that Jazmine was not pronounced dead until thirty five minutes after Amanda, thus she survived her mother and is the sole heir to her estate.  And since she passed, there is no heir. 

They come to their rationalization because included in the reports are statements such as “Bilateral chest sounds” and “symmetrical chest wall rise and fall”.  This should be no surprise since Jazmine was being artificially respirated.  Reports also indicate that upon initial assessment Jazmine’s vital signs were “triple zero”.  This means that there was no respiration, pulse or blood pressure signs found.  Continued evaluation of her condition to the hospital does not waver from this initial assessment.  

But once again, instead of trying to ease the pain they have caused, they continue to try to find any loop hole that will “get them off the hook” and allow them to shirk the responsibility they have in this awful situation they created. 

So we wait for them to obtain depositions from the Emergency Room doctor, the coroner and the doctor that performed Jazmine’s autopsy.  With their first hand knowledge all will know that as much as I wish it was not true, there was no saving my precious Granddaughter.  

But to add salt to the wound, I will sit through these play by play attempts.  Something no grandmother would want to do, but that I couldn’t not be there for.  I know that heroic measures where taken to try to avoid the inevitable.  I appreciate that, but think that it is so pathetically cruel that the defense is trying to get out of their responsibility to give us some kind of justice because the responders did what they were trained to do.  Even though there was, in reality, no chance for Jazmine they did what they could.  Wouldn’t you?  She was a baby and maybe they were aware of my daughter condition and with compassion and giving hearts tried to make our loss a little less, knowing deep down that it was hopeless.  I thank them for that.

What puzzles me is that Advocate Health Care Services tag line is “Inspiring Medicine” and “Changing lives”.  Synonyms for inspiring are; responsible for, influence, inform and reassure.  This seems ironic to me.  And although it is true that they changed our lives, is that something they are proud of? 

Dreyer Medical Clinics web site lists their mission, values and philosophy.  Under the Values list is the sub heading of "Excellence: we empower people to continually improve the outcomes of our service, to advance quality and to increase innovation and openness to new ideas".  And "Stewardship: we are responsible for all that we are, have and do". 

Under Philosophy you find points that they feel are important, included are two that I find interesting; 

"Customer satisfaction is the foundation on which every organization is built, so satisfaction with our services must be measured frequently and appropriate measure taken to continuously improve customer satisfaction".  

"We believe our physician and associate must be responsible resources and accountable for ethical behavior and stewardship of all resources under our control to ensure the accomplishment of our missions". 

Yet that has not been our reality with them at all.

I can report that Emo has been able to come to a settlement.  My heart is happy for him.  They have stepped up to the plate.  Jazmine’s life has been validated.  Maybe Emo will finally be able to move towards the closure we all crave.

But what about Amanda?  I miss her.  My life will never be the same.  My heart has not stopped hurting, even for one second.  My boys miss their sister.  The constant conversation and thoughts are; “remember when Amanda…” “Remember when Jazmine…”  “Remember when Amanda was afraid the ostrich was going to eat Jazmine?”  "Remember all the fun we had in Ely with all of the cousins?"  “Wonder what Amanda/Jazmine would think, say, be like, have enjoyed, do,…”.  

All Amanda asked for that day at Dreyer was help to feel better.  That’s all.

The depositions are to take place before the next scheduled court date on August third.  At that time, it is my understanding that the court will schedule a hearing to decide who Amanda’s legal next of kin is.  If the ruling is that it is Jazmine, the boys and I will likely not receive the justice and closure we have been seeking.

I will be posting updates as they are available.  Please feel free to check back or send me your e-mail address and I will be happy to send you a notice when there has been a new posting.  You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' button down at the bottom of the page. 

Thank you all for your continued support.  It is what keeps us going.