We sent our daughter to her grandparents. She’d been asking to go all week. To say that she loved it over there is an understatement. She felt alive there. Throughout the night, they watched movies and ate treats. Giggles and laughter filled every room. The house was a sanctuary. When it came time to go to bed, they had to convince her to go. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. Her grandparents chuckled about the good time they’d had. Shortly thereafter, everyone fell into a deep sleep. Hours later, the night was interrupted by piercing screams, “Grandma! Grandma! Help! Help! Grandma! I can’t breathe!” Rattled awake, her grandparents ran in just as she collapsed to the floor.
Paramedics arrived to the house quickly. Once we found out what happened, everyone assured us that Cook Children’s would provide the best care possible. At the hospital, they told us that they’d been able to resuscitate her and were sending her to intensive care. We’d never been more heartbroken. Our baby was just lying there. No expressions. No words. Nothing.
For the last few days, we’ve struggled to figure out what to do. They tell us she is dead. We don’t believe them. We believe that life is worth preserving. Our daughter is only 9! We can’t give up on her.
Just this morning, the doctors came in and tried to convince us to pull the plug. When we resisted, they backed down. Eventually, the hospital administration came in and talked with us. With compassionate dispositions, they told us we could take as long as we needed. They were so generous. Now, we’re just praying for a miracle and the hospital is going to give us enough time to see what happens. We are so blessed to have our child treated at such a compassionate hospital.
We heard about a similar situation down the hall. The hospital was taking the family to court to try to force the family to take their daughter off of life support. The only difference between our situations is that our daughter is white and their daughter is black.
At this hour, Payton Summons is fighting for her life at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Her attendants want her to die. Her nurses want her to die. Her doctors want her to die. Her supposed advocates in the administration want her to die. In fact, they want her to die so bad that they took her family to court and asked a judge to let them kill her. Thankfully, the judge issued an injunction to save her life for two weeks. Now, the family is desperately looking for another hospital to treat their child.
If they hadn’t been able to secure an attorney, their child would be dead. Payton doesn’t deserve this. Nobody does. Prejudiced rich hospitals and their doctors shouldn’t get to decide who lives or dies. While devastatingly sad, such situations are not unusual. In America, color has always decided who lives and dies.
Payton Summons is a Child of God.
Cook Children’s Medical Center is Not.
End of discussion.
Amen.
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