Mae Magouirk - The Next Terri Schiavo?

There is some blogospheric buzz developing around the story of Mae Magouirk, first reported in the always-interesting (But always credible?  Hush, "interesting" is fine.) World Net Daily.  Their lead:

In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schiavo in Florida, an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of starvation and dehydration.

The gist - the granddaughter thinks Mae Magouirk is ready to go home to Jesus; the nephew, Ken Mullinax, disagrees.  Ms. Magouirk has left a living will calling for routine sustenance, and the grand-daughter has a financial power of attorney, but not a medical power of attorney, so the legal situation is murky, to say the least.  Well.

Blogs for Terri has details, and background from Mr. Mullinax; a skeptical  Glenn Reynolds points us to "Thrown Back" and to a skeptical Jane Galt.

At this point, the assembled staff of JustOneMinute is stuck on a sidebar - just who is this nephew, Ken Mullinax?  That is not a common name; however, in 2004 the Democratic candidate for the Third District in Alabama had a press spokesperson named Ken Mullinax; former Democratic Congressman Ike Hilliard of the Seventh District did as well.  And for the geographically inclined, the Third District seems to be near Birmingham (where Ms. Magouirk might be moved), and is just over the state line from LaGrange, GA, where the legal and medical drama is unfolding.

And there may be more than the usual enmity between Mr. Mullinax and Republicans - in the last week of the 2004 race, Dem candidate Bill Fuller's house (which doubled as campaign HQ) caught fire.  Per this story the police did not immediately see anything suspicious about the fire, and I have seen no follow-up; however, some local Dems suspected foul play:

But Jimmy Pool, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, said he suspects arson.              

"If this was arson, the person or persons responsible will face tremendous consequences, and if we find someone has done this because of Fuller's candidacy, then this is a hate crime of the worst kind, a futile attempt at intimidation," Pool said.

So, my questions for the nephew, Mr. Mullinax:

(1) Are you the Ken Mullinax who did press relations for Democrats Ike Hilliard and Bill Fuller?

If he is neither that Ken Mullinax or a close relation, we can stop there, and marvel at life's coincidences [But we won't need to - see the UPDATES].  But if he is a Democratic press spokesperson, a few follow-ups might be appropriate.  These have occurred to me:

(2)  It seems fair to presume that you must have many contacts among the national and local media - how many mainstream reporters have you contacted about this story, and how have they reacted?

(3)  Which Democratic party leaders, either state or national, have you contacted about this story?  How did they react?  Will any of them be issuing press releases calling attention to this story?

(4)  Last fall, prior to the election, there were some Democrats who were concerned that Bill Fuller may have been the victim of foul play.  Was his house fire of last October investigated to your satisfaction?  Did you then, and do you now hold the view that your candidate may have been attacked by a fringe right wing group?

I imagine my point is obvious.  Trust, but verify.

MORE:  I have been advised by an Appalled Moderate that if I listen to this 16 minute interview of Ken Mullinax by Glen Beck, I will learn that Mr. Mullinax identifies himself as a Washington aide. 

The local LaGrange paper provides a more balanced view.

Straight Up with Sherri has lots more - scroll around.  And here is an interesting comment, from which I excerpt this:

The details are many, but in short, the grandmother is not being denied anything, but refuses herself to eat (there never was a feeding tube).

Worth noting - according to Mr. Mullinax, Mae Magouirk has a hereditary ailment that hospitalized her sister (his mother) in 2002 (and she is not well now); it may well be that she is quite familiar with her care options and prognosis, and has been clear about her wishes in discussions with the granddaughter.

UPDATE:  I am going to have come up aces on this.  We have exchanged e-mails; Mr. Mullinax ducked my specific question about Hilliard and Fuller, but told me that he was an aide to Paul "Bear" Bryant and Gov. George Wallace (Dem.) and has been a public servant in Birmingham and Washington for many years.  I have sent off a  follow-up asking Mr. Mullinax if he could focus on a yes/no response to my seemingly simple questions - did he work for Ike Hilliard and Bill Fuller?

Time will tell. [And what time tells us, via an e-mail from a diligent "Save Mae" blogger, is that Mr. Mullinax confirmed his Democratic Party work in a phone conversation.]

UPDATE 2:  NBC News is cryptic on April 12:

While Gaddy and her attorney in Georgia aren't commenting, Mullinax, who was once a spokesman for a former U.S. representative, has been making his case public via e-mail and telephone contact with Internet bloggers.

Emphasis added.

UPDATE 3:  From a transcript of the Ken Mullinax interview with Glenn Beck, we find Mr. Mullinax saying, "Since I used to be on Capitol Hill as a senior staff guy in Washington, I know my way around...".

Comments

[Richard Campbell]

My dad never had a feeding tube inserted, either, when he stopped eating five years after he became brain-damaged due to alcoholism and a fall.

In our case, the entire family, including all three of his living siblings, his two sons, my mom (from whom he'd been divorced), as well as his doctor, agreed that it would be pointless to insert a tube, but the Catholic convalescent hospital would not go along with the family's wishes, so he was moved.

I was told at the time that, legally, it is a far easier thing never to insert a tube than to insert one and later have it removed. Although it was a painful decision, it was a relief to have the entire family united on it.

[TM]

I have tried the e-mail; I guess a phone call is next.

Contact: Kenneth Mullinax Ph: 205-408-7598
mailto:[email protected]

That is a Birmingham, AL number, if we can believe Yahoo People Search.

And do check the UPDATE.

[ed]

Hmmmm.

I'm not sure I completely understand your question TM.

Are you thinking that this is some sort of hoax, perpetrated by Mr. Mullinax, as a means of striking back at conservatives? And because he might have been involved with a Democrat who accused Republicans of dirty tricks?

Hmmm.

Wizbang has some more updates so I'd suggest checking it out there. Frankly this seems all rather excessive for a hoax. It's even more excessive for any sort of strike back. Really now. Even if it were a hoax what would the accusation be? That we're all overly concerned about the health and welfare of an 81 year old ill woman? That would be something to be ashamed of?

Your doubt does you credit, but I think you've gone overboard on this one.

[Jamie]

Tom - for what it's worth, your "and she is not well now" concerning Mullinax's mother comes across as "a dissected aorta is a death sentence" rather than the point of the link you attached to it - that stress over her sister's situation caused Mrs. Mullinax's blood pressure to rise to the point that her condition, with which she's been living essentially normally for several years, has now worsened to the point of hospitalization.

Just clarifying for readers who may not have time to follow the link.

[Jamie]

P.S. May I highly recommend the Glenn Beck interview with Ken Mullinax, in which Mullinax not only acknowledges his background but further says that his mother and uncle urged him to use his connections to get their story in front of the public, at this link: http://www.glennbeck.com/audio/free-audio.shtml

It's 16 minutes long, but worth the time. If Mullinax is telling the truth (and he's very convincing in his sincerity), the story is substantially as it's being reported.

[Tom]

I have to agree with Ed, what's the point of your skepticism? Not to say one shouldn't be skeptical of any story like this (especially one pushed over blogs), but what's the angle? A Democrat drags a questionable case into the limelight to get Terri's brigades up in arms again, only to expose them later? Expose them as what? Since the judge ruled that she could be moved to UAB for treatment if 2 of 3 cardiologists agreed, and she has now been moved, I don't see how any outcome turns this into a Democratic "win." If you think this is some kind of trickI wish you would explain the angles--who benefits by what outcomes. After all, even if Mr. Mullinax is a former Democratic aide who has engaged in politcal hype in the past, he is also a son and nephew and human being and maybe he just loves his Aunt.

(Isn't the old saying, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged? MAybe it needs to be revised.)

[The Commissar]

Maybe I'm dense, but what is the suspicious nature of a Dem party guy trying to capitalize on a Republican issue? I'm not sure this story is as reported, but fill in a couple dots for us ...

"I imagine my point is obvious." Not to me.

BTW, I posted on my blog a statement from Hospice LaGrange that they "do not withhold food or hydration."

[Les Nessman]

The complacent MSM sneers at the blogosphere as a bunch of amateurs who don't wait to fact-check.

We'll show them.

C'mon everyone! Let's smear some reputations and gossip, gossip, gossip!
/sarcasm off
(The above was not necessarily meant for anyone on this thread; just a general opinion. And I say this as someone who mostly hates the MSM and thinks the Internet is the only way to go from now on.)

[Christina]

Has ANYBODY seen any MSM coverage on this?

[TomT]

D'OH, I figured out the angle. TM assumes that Mullinax had already peddled his slanted version of events to his media and political contacts and they refused to deal with it since they saw there was no "there" there. So he turned to Terri's bloggers to get results. The bloggers are being used, not to further a Democratic or "anti-tube" agenda, but to further Ken's personal agenda. Since Ken's agenda seems to be to save his Aunt's life, I'm not sure being used is a bad thing. The worst thing that could happen is that she dies anyway despite more aggressive treatment--which would mean her first doctor was right and Ken was wrong but shouldn't impact the bloggers who just want to make sure that her written living will is followed.

[James Stephenson]

My Mother's Maiden name is Mullinax. We are from a small town in Georgia.

I do not know if we are kin or not, since Mullinax is a French name meaning Mill worker or some such.

You want to talk odd names, Florence Mullinax, that was
my grandmother's name.

[gt]

Just what we need. Something else to make the Right http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38308-2005Apr8.html>even crazier.

[BC]

I am skeptical of the details of this case, so I'm adopting a wait and see approach.

However, I think this case points out one issue that was ignored by the MSM in the Schiavo case: the fitness of the legal guardian. My primary concern with the Schiavo case was that the court system rubber stamped Mr. Schiavo as the legal guardian without ever questioning his fitness to make decision’s for Terri. In my opinion, Mr. Schiavo had too many conflicts of interest to represent Terri’s wishes. First, he claimed it was Terri’s wish that she would never want to live with a feeding tube. Yet, he took seven years to act on Terri’s supposed wishes. Second, Mr. Schiavo claimed that this was a intimate decision between a husband and his wife. The MSM accepted this uncritically. This would make sense for most marriages. However, by the time that Mr. Schiavo said this he was already engaged in what was essentially polygamy. Mr. Schiavo didn’t just have an affair, he wasn’t just living with another woman, he was having a family with this other woman. Finally, Mr. Schiavo proved with his actions during Terri’s last moments that he cared less about Terri’s wishes than he claimed. Did Mr. Schiavo really think that Terri would not want her parents or siblings at her bedside as she passed away? Although too late for the courts to do anything about Mr. Schiavo, his actions at the end of Terri’s life did show the rest of us the dangerous path taken by our court system.

In many legal issues, conflicts of interest force even the most interested of parties to be excused from decision making. By the precedence of the Schiavo case, the court appointed guardian can decide if someone can live or die regardless of numerous conflicts of interest.

[Brent]

I haven't blogged this yet, though I intend to. Have you seen where the mummies out in California were given CT scans, something denied poor Terri Schiavo?

[GT]

Terri was denied CT scans?

[Jamie]

No, I understand Mrs. Schindler Schiavo did have CT scans (although I don't think recently - seems to me I remember 2001?? was the most recent, but I may be pulling that entirely out of the air), just not MRIs or PET scans, which would have given a clearer picture. She apparently had a metal device implanted in her skull shortly after her collapse as part of an experimental treatment, which would have to have been removed before an MRI could be performed. Whether the need for this surgery was sufficient barrier to performing a more accurate test, Deponent Sayeth Not; it was never done, whatever the costs or effects would have been.

[SallyVee]

Terri Schiavo did have a CT scan. Here's an article on the subject:

TERRI SCHIAVO's CT SCAN - ANOTHER PHYSICIAN'S OPINION
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4374

When you come across the name Dr. Ronald Cranford in the article, know that he is one of the original "Euthinators." You've seen him on TV -- so he must be credible, right?! Follow the links on Cranford to learn more.

[purple_kangaroo]

Here are some pictures and info. about Terri's CT scan and some comparison pics with other damaged brains, and a brief summary of each case history and the symptoms that brought the patient in to the doctor: http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=purple_kangaroo_Angela&tab=weblogs&uid=235615226

Incidentally, Terri received CT scans in 1996 and 2002; interestingly enough, it was the 1996 scan that Mr. Felos and Dr. Cranfield have been showing to the media next to a CT scan showing the brain of a healthy woman much younger than Terri.

The reason this seems odd to me is that in the 2002 trial when both scans were showed to doctors, the radiologist Dr. Maxfield (the one who interprets CT scans for a living) said that there was some very slight improvement in the quality of the remaining tissue in the 2002 scan compared to the 1996 scan.

The other doctors (4 neurologists and Terri's general care doctor, I believe) all agreed that the second scan showed no more damage than the first and was a much better quality scan, although to them the damage looked the same and they didn't see any improvement.

Given those facts, I really wonder why they released the 1996 scan which was agreed by all to be a poorer-quality image, instead of a cut from the 2002 scan?

It's also interesting that in Cranfield's article about diagnosing PVS (which I quoted from and linked to here: http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=purple_kangaroo_Angela&tab=weblogs&uid=237598982 ), he says that one thing he would look for is a progressive deterioration in the CT scans over several years, and the doctors unanimously agreed that Terri's CT scans don't show that.

You can find the entire 2002 trial transcript and many other relevant documents at the timeline I'm building: http://www.geocities.com/purple_kangaroo_angela/terrischiavotimeline.html

[purple_kangaroo]

BTW, Ken Mullinax's argument was that he believed Mae needed a feeding tube/IV and was denied one, as well as other necessary medical treatment and comfort measures.

She did have one very briefly--an IV overnight and a feeding tube just for a few hours--during the short time (March 31-April 1) when Ken's mother and uncle had the "say" over her treatment before the granddaughter got the emergency guardianship instated.

According to Ken, again, when Mae arrived at the hospital after being removed from the hospice, the doctor said that she was severely dehydrated.

Blogsforterri has invited both the granddaughter and the judge to write statements giving their side of the story, which will be published on blogsforterri. They have also published any and all statements they have received from anyone involved in Mae Magouirk's situation, no matter what "side" they supported.

I think they are doing their best to give all the facts and let everyone tell their side of the story, and trying to boil it down to the truth as well as possible.

[DeputyHeadmistress]

Meanwhile... wizbangblog.com reports that Beth Gaddy is denying Mae's brother and sister and nephews visitation.

[ed]

Hmmmm.

Perhaps we need a new commerical service to give people involved in idiotic spats a wake-up call. Let's call it "The Singing Bitch-Slap". A really big ex-con in costume walks up, sings a little ditty, and slaps you silly.

Now if they took VISA and had a website, I know of a couple hundred people I'd like to have them visit.

:)