Family says brain-dead Jahi McMath showing signs of life

This undated photo provided by the McMath family and Omari Sealey shows Jahi McMath. This undated photo provided by the McMath family and Omari Sealey shows Jahi McMath. Photo: Associated Press Photo: Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Family says brain-dead Jahi McMath showing signs of life 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Despite being declared brain-dead three months ago, 13-year-old Jahi McMath of Oakland is tossing and turning in her hospital bed and signaling that she's aware of what's going on around her, a family member said Friday.

Jahi suffered what doctors say were terminal complications from a tonsillectomy at Children's Hospital Oakland on Dec. 9 and was certified dead three days later. But her family has refuted the certification and moved the teen's body to an undisclosed care facility, where she remains connected to a ventilator and feeding tube.

National attention

The family's battle with the hospital over her state of consciousness has garnered national attention - and the family has drawn criticism for their insistence that Jahi is alive.

In an interview with The Chronicle on Friday at the office of the family's attorney, Jahi's uncle Omari Sealy, 27, said that while his niece remains unconscious, she looks healthy and moves her head, legs and arms regularly. Showing such signs of life, he said, the family is not going to give up on her.

She even turns in the direction of visitors when they enter her hospital room, an indication that she understands her surroundings, Sealy said.

"She moves so much, she can turn on her side," he said. "They have to keep her bed rails up. They're afraid she could fall out of bed."

Medical experts insist that brain-dead people are not alive. They say movement by people on mechanical support is not uncommon; it's the product of muscle and spinal reflexes.

Experts also say patients can remain on support machines for weeks or even months, but their condition is bound to deteriorate.

Sealy, however, said none of what the family has been told by doctors has come true. Jahi's complexion color is good, her heart and lungs remain strong and she has shown increasing signs of awareness, he said.

'Knows where she is'

"She definitely knows where she is and that we're present," he said. "One of the misconceptions out there is that she's deteriorating or is going to deteriorate over time. But her skin looks better than mine."

He wore a button on his shirt with a picture of his smiling niece.

Jahi was released from Children's Hospital Oakland to the family on Jan. 5 after the family won a court order to keep her on a ventilator before taking possession of her body through the Alameda County coroner's office.

Family attorney Christopher Dolan argued that families, not doctors, should decide when a brain-dead patient is dead.

The hospital was prepared to remove the teen from support machines after doctors declared her death on Dec. 12. The certification was corroborated by an independent neurologist from Stanford University.

Jahi suffered cardiac arrest after the removal of her tonsils, uvula and adenoids to treat sleep apnea.

Children's Hospital Oakland is prohibited from discussing what went wrong with the surgery because of patient confidentiality laws. But a state Department of Public Health report released this week found that the hospital met government standards in its treatment of patients including Jahi.

The family and their attorney have been critical of the hospital's procedures and the recent report.

They've chosen not to reveal where Jahi is staying out of privacy and security concerns. They've revealed only that she's receiving good care from professionals.

'They treat her very well'

"They treat her like a live human being," Dolan said. "They treat her very well."

Dolan, too, said he has seen Jahi move and show signs that she could recover.

Sealy said he visits his niece as often as he can, declining to say just how often for fear of giving away her location.

Her mother, her sister and her sister's husband are with her every day, he said, and other family members and friends have visited.

"She's progressed since I first saw her" at the hospital, he added.

Asked what he hopes will come of his niece, Sealy said "that she wake up, that she open her eyes."