Update: Premature baby born to brain-dead woman dies
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Updating a prior article and news information.
The baby that was born to a brain-dead cancer patient who was kept alive in the hopes the baby would survive was born prematurely, but unfortunately died to heart failure.
This brings a sad end to the tragic story. The father of the child, husband of the brain-dead cancer striken patient, had run up large medical bills in his efforts to have his wife kept alive while letting the baby continue to grow in it's mothers womb. Unfortunately he has now lost the mother and this child.
Article clipping below from Washington Times. Headline is linked. More at the original article of course.
Premature baby born to brain-dead woman dies
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
September 13, 2005
A girl whose premature birth to a brain-dead, cancer-stricken mother last month made medical history died early yesterday of heart failure at Children's Hospital in the District.
Susan Anne Catherine Torres was 5 weeks and 5 days old. She had been faring well at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington but on Friday was rushed to Children's for emergency surgery to repair a perforated intestine.
"The team initially tried to medically stabilize her, but ultimately performed two surgeries," the hospital said yesterday. "Unfortunately, she was too sick and fragile to recover, and we were unable to save her."
The Rev. Denis Donahue of St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria -- the Torres family's parish -- had been with the family at the hospital late Sunday when it appeared that Susan had been stabilized.
Shortly after he left, he got a call saying she had died at 12:01 a.m.
"It's a very sad day for the family," Father Donahue said. "We were so hoping she'd survive. We're supporting the family with prayer, hoping they know many people are pulling for them."
The official cause of Susan's death was "necrotizing enterocolitis," an often deadly intestinal infection in premature infants in which a hole forms in the intestine and bacteria leak into the abdominal cavity.
The infection "overwhelmed" Susan's weak immune system, resulting in massive organ failure, the hospital said.
When Susan was delivered by Caesarean section Aug. 2, she was 13 weeks premature and weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces.
But she was free of the melanoma that killed her mother, Susan Torres, 26, who collapsed May 7 of a brain hemorrhage.
The family's efforts to keep Mrs. Torres' body functioning for almost three months to give her daughter a chance to live drew international attention.
The baby that was born to a brain-dead cancer patient who was kept alive in the hopes the baby would survive was born prematurely, but unfortunately died to heart failure.
This brings a sad end to the tragic story. The father of the child, husband of the brain-dead cancer striken patient, had run up large medical bills in his efforts to have his wife kept alive while letting the baby continue to grow in it's mothers womb. Unfortunately he has now lost the mother and this child.
Article clipping below from Washington Times. Headline is linked. More at the original article of course.
Premature baby born to brain-dead woman dies
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
September 13, 2005
A girl whose premature birth to a brain-dead, cancer-stricken mother last month made medical history died early yesterday of heart failure at Children's Hospital in the District.
Susan Anne Catherine Torres was 5 weeks and 5 days old. She had been faring well at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington but on Friday was rushed to Children's for emergency surgery to repair a perforated intestine.
"The team initially tried to medically stabilize her, but ultimately performed two surgeries," the hospital said yesterday. "Unfortunately, she was too sick and fragile to recover, and we were unable to save her."
The Rev. Denis Donahue of St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria -- the Torres family's parish -- had been with the family at the hospital late Sunday when it appeared that Susan had been stabilized.
Shortly after he left, he got a call saying she had died at 12:01 a.m.
"It's a very sad day for the family," Father Donahue said. "We were so hoping she'd survive. We're supporting the family with prayer, hoping they know many people are pulling for them."
The official cause of Susan's death was "necrotizing enterocolitis," an often deadly intestinal infection in premature infants in which a hole forms in the intestine and bacteria leak into the abdominal cavity.
The infection "overwhelmed" Susan's weak immune system, resulting in massive organ failure, the hospital said.
When Susan was delivered by Caesarean section Aug. 2, she was 13 weeks premature and weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces.
But she was free of the melanoma that killed her mother, Susan Torres, 26, who collapsed May 7 of a brain hemorrhage.
The family's efforts to keep Mrs. Torres' body functioning for almost three months to give her daughter a chance to live drew international attention.