[NFBMI-Talk] Horrifying story from Texas

[Mary Ann Robinson]

While the person in the article below was not blind, his story is
horrifying; and speaks to why we should continue to be vigilant and advocate
for our rights in health care and treatment.

 

Mary Ann Robinson

 

 

Michael Hickson, a 46-year-old COVID-19 patient, was starved and left
without adequate treatment for his illnesses at St. David's South Austin
Medical Center. His wife, Melissa, says the hospital refused to treat his
illnesses because of his disability.

 
<https://www.lifenews.com/2020/06/26/doctors-starved-quadriplegic-coronaviru
s-patient-to-death-because-of-his-disability/> ADVERTISEMENT

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Michael Hickson became quadriplegic due to receiving CPR after he went into
sudden cardiac arrest while driving Melissa to work in May 2017. Melissa and
their five children stayed by Michael's side throughout his
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozh1jV4XjWI&feature=youtu.be> recovery. He
landed back in the hospital in 2020 after contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia
from a staff member at his nursing home.

Michael was conscious and alert but could not communicate verbally. He
responded to jokes, shook his head, and puckered his lips on a FaceTime call
when Melissa requested a kiss. Melissa asked if she could pray with her
husband and their children, to which he nodded "yes." But the doctor soon
told Melissa her husband would be placed in hospice against her will. In a
<https://youtu.be/jq-_gtjnzZg> recorded conversation, the St. David's doctor
told Melissa her husband would not receive treatment because of his
disability, despite her wishes.

St. David's doctor: "So as of right now, his quality of life - he doesn't
have much of one."

Melissa: "What do you mean? Because he's paralyzed with a brain injury he
doesn't have quality of life?"

St. David's doctor: "Correct."

 <https://parler.com/profile/LifeNews/posts> Follow LifeNews on the Parler
social media network for the latest pro-life news!

While Michael's wife and another family member were litigating in court who
would be Michael's permanent guardian, a judge named an Austin-area
organization called Family Eldercare as temporary guardian over Michael.
Family Eldercare granted the doctor's orders to not treat Michael and
instead place him in hospice. Alarmingly, the doctor reiterated the scary
reality that she had zero say in whether her husband lived or died. The
doctor told Melissa, "but at this point, we are going to do what we feel is
best for him along with the state and this is what we decided. this is the
decision between the medical community and the state."

Michael was left without food or treatment for six days despite Melissa's
will to save her husband. He passed away from the untreated illnesses on
June 11, 2020.

Now, Melissa and her children grieve their beloved husband and dad. Melissa
stated, "I'm struggling to understand how and why this could ever happen. I
lost my best friend, my better half, the other half of my heart." She
continued:

I was stripped of my rights as a wife, and left helplessly watching my
husband be executed. I now have no husband, a widow at 47. My children left
with no father to celebrate Father's Day. All taken away from us. I have no
other words to express how I feel today except hurt, angry, and frustrated.

LifeNews Note: This originally appeared at
<https://www.texasrighttolife.com/quadriplegic-covid-19-patient-starved-by-t
exas-doctor-because-of-his-disability/?ct=t%28Quadriplegic+COVID-19+Patient+
Starved_COPY_01%29&mc_cid=9bd4ada8cc&mc_eid=%5BUNIQID%5D> Texas Right to
Life.

 

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