Knya Dismute-Howard Deserves A Chance

The mother of a critically ill baby is trying to figure out where to take her child after being told by doctors at Memorial Hermann Hospital that they would stop treating her in 10 days.

The five-month-old little girl was diagnosed with leukemia just weeks after her birth. Since then, she’s undergone a number of different medical treatments and contracted an infection. Doctors and her parents disagree on what should happen next.

The news that Knya Dismute-Howard’s doctors believe any more medical treatment would be futile wasn’t a surprise to her parents. It only strengthened their resolve

“Her mind is fully there,” said the baby’s mother, Tamiko Dismuke-Howard. “She knows when we are there. I can’t give up because she won’t give up.”

Tamiko picked up a letter from Memorial Hermann Thursday night. It says simply that doctors believe all medical treatment, other than to ease Knya’s pain and suffering, would be useless. Her parents have 10 days to find another hospital for Knya or her medical care will stop.

Once again, we find a situation where doctors are choosing to withhold treatment because of the “possible” lack of quality of life for the patient. The parents of this baby do NOT want medical treatment withheld, and it should not be withheld. Period. Doctors do NOT always know best. They have proven this, time and time again.

“Continuing treatment at this point would entail the prolonging of this extreme pain and suffering without any hope of a benefit with prolongation of life,” said Chairman of the Futility Review Commission Richard Castriotta, MD.

“Without any hope of a benefit with prolongation of life”. Wow. No hope at all, huh?

Let’s take a moment to look at another case, one that I am very, very familiar with. Every case has it’s own set of circumstances, but the same basic facts have come forth is several cases lately. Doctors just don’t seem to want to help someone who might not turn out “normal”.

In the case I wish to present, the baby is deprived of oxygen for several minutes during birth, the mother’s placenta comes detached from the wall of the uterus, and the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s tiny, premature neck. When she is born, she is smaller than a coke can, she has suffered irreparable brain damage, and the doctors say that even with all possible treatment she will never walk, never talk, never feed herself, never use the bathroom, and above all else, she will die before she turns three.

The doctors in this case were of the same opinion as the doctors in Knya Dismute-Howard’s case, Charlotte Wyatt’s case, Luke Winston-Jones’ case, and many, many others. The difference in this case, however, was not that that her mother refused to listen to the doctors, but that she was able to find treatment in a variety of other places, with completely different doctors who saw things in a different light. They valued ALL human life. And guess what happened?

That little premature baby grew up. Not only did she learn to walk, she ran. Not only did she learn to talk, she became quite the chatterbox. She also learned to feed herself and use the potty like everyone else she knew. But the biggest misconception those doctors had, back in 1959, was that she would have no quality of life, and she would die before she turned three.

This sounds like something that could be happening today, doesn’t it? It is happening today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next… You see, last Sunday we helped that precious bundle of joy (who still to this day does not give in to the constant seizures and other maladies she suffers) celebrate her 46th birthday. She had the time of her life. She got a nice bath, a Happy Meal from McDonalds, and her usual birthday “basket” which included all of her favorite foods and other goodies that only she could appreciate.

Of course, a lot has happened in those 46 years. It’s been over 35 years since she won her gold medals in the Special Olympics, it’s been at least 15 years since she said anything to anyone, and the daily seizures seem to take their toll a lot harder than they used too. But guess what? She still loves to sit in her rocking chair, listening to the oldies station on the radio. She still loves laying in her bed, cuddling with her mommy, watching the television for hours into the night. She still loves life, and NO ONE has the right to take that away from her. Or Knya. Or Charlotte. Or Luke. Or anyone else.

When we begin to allow doctors to decide who has the right to live or die, we, as a society, begin to die ourselves. It’s our choice. Do we live, or do we die? The time to decide, is now.

[Update: Just for the record, our 46 year old "bundle of joy" has outlived three of her doctors. The first two are the ones who thought she would have been dead long before now, but all three of them thought she was a miracle. When doctors acknowledge miracles, it really makes you question their "judgement" to withhold treatment in the first place, doesn't it?]