Javona Peters was a normal
16-year-old girl, despite the brain condition she was born with. She had a
whole life ahead of her and hopes and dreams for the future. A brain surgery,
described as “routine” by the doctors, came to end her peaceful life on October
17, 2007. Following the operation, performed by the medical staff at Montefiore
Hospital, New York, young Javona never woke up, remaining in a vegetative state
ever since.
Currently she is in a deep
coma, connected to tons of tubes and monitors, a hurtful sight for her parents.
Although her lungs still function on their own, she breathes through a tube. The
16-year-old is not able to see, hear or speak, not to mention eat or drink,
currently being fed through a tube.
The medical staff at Montefiore
Hospital offered an explanation for the unexpected consequences of the “routine”
operation. Apparently Javona suffered an allergic reaction to the anesthetic,
which ended up provoking an oxygen insufficiency. The 90 minutes surgical
intervention was performed by Dr. James Goodrich, who was aware of the girl’s
condition, as he had previously met his young patient when she was only 3 years
old.
What came as a tremendous shock
for her parents turned into a legal fight weeks after the tragedy. The Bronx
Supreme Court is set to rule a decision on January 7 on whether to take off
Javona’s life support or not. The matter turned to the court of law as the two
are not married and want different things for their daughter. While the mother,
Janet Joseph, fights for full custody in order to potentially terminate her
daughter’s vegetative state, the father, Leonard Peters fights for his daughter’s
life.
In a ABCNEWS.com interview,
Peters said: “When you see your kid go into the hospital, and then find out
that she can’t talk or move, it is not a good feeling. […] It is not up to me
to decide who lives and who dies. I don’t give life and I don’t take it away.”
Despite the consensual consent
both parents gave before Javona was set to undergo the surgical intervention,
they can’t seem to be able to reach an agreement now. On one hand, even though
very small, there is still a chance for the 16-year-old to make a possible
recovery, or at least that is what the hospital spokesman said. On the other
hand, it’s hard for her parents to see their daughter in this condition,
possibly never to recover again.
This is not the first case when
a family dispute reaches court, implying the right to decide someone’s fate. Terri
Schiavo’s case became known when a Florida court granted her husband the right
to remove her life support after seven years of legal disputes with Terri’s
family. The case is a bit different if we take into account the age of the
patient and the circumstances, but that still remains to be decided. The hearings
are set for January 7, 2008.
