Judge delays taking baby off life support

A 9-month-old baby was set to be taken off life support at a Fort Worth hospital Sunday night, but a judge’s order has given the child’s family more time to search for a facility that will accept her.

Tinslee Lewis, who was born with a rare heart defect, was to be removed from the ventilator keeping her alive at Cook Children’s Medical Center, KXAS-TV reported.

Tarrant County state District Judge Alex Kim signed a temporary restraining order that gives the family until Nov. 22 to find another medical facility to accept Tinslee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The child’s mother, Trinity Lewis, told KXAS-TV she will fight for more time with her daughter, calling the child a fighter, too.

“She’s going to continue to put up a fight with the doctors and nurses,” she told the station.

But the hospital says Tinslee, who has spent her entire life inside the hospital’s intensive-care unit, is suffering and will never improve despite doctors’ best efforts. The child has been on a ventilator since July, according to a written statement from Winifred King, assistant vice president of public relations for Cook Children’s.

“Cook Children’s has made heroic efforts to treat Tinslee’s condition, all while being very transparent with her family regarding her poor prognosis,” King said. “Despite those extraordinary efforts, Tinslee’s condition has not improved.”

In the statement, King said Cook Children’s has reached out to nearly 20 facilities across the country to see whether they would accept Tinslee, and all have declined.

“While we believe every child’s life is sacred, we also believe that no child should be sentenced to a life of pain,” the statement said. “Removing this beautiful child from mechanical ventilation is a gut-wrenching decision for Cook Children’s physicians and staff. However we feel it is in her best interest to free her from artificial, medical intervention and suffering.”

If a health-care provider believes a patient should be taken off life-sustaining treatment and an ethics committee agrees, Texas law allows 10 days for the patient’s family to find a facility that is willing to accept the patient. If no facility can be found within 10 days, life support can be withdrawn unless there is a court order granting an extension.