Life Support

Weary from a lack of sleep and a broken heart, Mark Jasper spoke softly yesterday about his only son, Davon. He had spent most of the day in silence, thinking about the 2 1/2-year-old child who was attached to life support after nearly drowning Monday while on a field trip in Carroll County with his day care center.By 8 p.m. last night, Jasper and family members had made the final gut-wrenching decision, asking doctors to remove life support from Davon William Jasper, allowing him to die and donating his vital organs to others.

Weary from lack of sleep and a broken heart, Mark Jasper spoke softly yesterday about his only son, Davon. He had spent most of the day in silence, thinking about the 2 1/2-year-old who was attached to life support after nearly drowning Monday while on a field trip in Carroll County with his day care center.By 8 p.m. last night, Jasper and family members had made the final gut-wrenching decision, asking doctors to remove life support from Davon William Jasper, allowing him to die and donating his vital organs to others.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A man who had been pronounced dead and whose body was placed on support systems to maintain vital organs for transplant was found to be alive Friday night when doctors prepared to remove those organs.Henry Edgar Kaiser, 35, had been found shot about 8: 20 p.m. Wednesday at his home.He was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery that night.He had remained in extremely critical condition since.About 10 a.m. Friday, however, he appeared to have succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

A student who was struck by a car while leaving Greenspring Middle School died yesterday at Sinai Hospital, shortly after being removed from life-support systems.Brian Butler, 11, of the 3800 block of Roland View Ave. was crossing the 4700 block of Greenspring Ave. on Tuesday afternoon when he was hit by a southbound Yellow Transportation Co. car in an accident witnessed by several students.Hospital spokesman Paul Umansky said the youth died shortly after 1 p.m., and that his parents -- who gave permission to withdraw life support -- agreed to the donation of organs for transplants that might help others.

I was an absolute goner the first time I heard the voice of 15-year-old Angela Chase (Claire Danes)."I'm in love," she told us in the pilot episode of "My So-Called Life." "His name is Jordan Catalano. He was left back . . . twice. Once, I almost touched his shoulder in the middle of a pop quiz. He's always closing his eyes like it hurts to look at things. I just like how he's always leaning against stuff. He leans great."Angela's voice was almost always like that -- confessional, confused, honest, smart, longing, aching, a fresh stream of teen consciousness that sounded poetic compared to the normal grind of assembly line network dialogue.

The death watch continues for "My So-Called Life."Despite a groundswell of fan support and new life on MTV, the struggling ABC coming-of-age drama is a long shot to make the fall lineup, says co-executive producer Marshall Herskovitz. The network will decide "Life's" fate by mid-May."I'd say it's 60-40 against us being renewed," says Mr. Herskovitz, 43. "This show has been so near death for so long in so many ways, we're used to it. We're fatalistic about it. We waited 18 months to get on the air at all. ABC ordered episodes in dribs and drabs."

PHOENIX -- The day after he was shot by a suspected drug dealer in a domestic fight turned shootout, police officer Don Mauldin was declared brain dead.Knowing that "cops don't want to drag on," his wife reluctantly gave the doctors permission to disconnect his life support. She cried hard, prayed harder, then waited for the end.Nine days later, with friends and family assembled at his bedside, he coughed and woke up.Doctors are astounded by the recovery of the 19-year law-enforcement veteran.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In an unceremonious end to a highly publicized case, the Missouri Supreme Court used just eight words to clear the way for Christine Busalacchi's family to remove her feeding tube.But the Busalacchi family announced yesterday that despite the court's decision, the brain-damaged woman would continue receiving medical treatment."The family has decided that for the foreseeable future Christine will remain in the state hospital in St. Louis, receiving all of the care she now receives," said the Busalacchi family's attorney, William Colby.

It's never easy facing choices about life and death. But increasing numbers of Americans are encountering the singular anguish of deciding whether to remove life support equipment from a relative or to stop artificially administering the essential nutrients. This month Maryland joined the front ranks of states grappling in a comprehensive way with the choices that face families and with how those choices should be made.Maryland's Health Care Decision Act, which took effect Oct. 1, updates the state's laws on advance directives -- documents that allow people to state in advance their wishes about life-prolonging medical treatment.

IS IT morally right to keep a dead woman who is pregnant attached to life support machines in order to let her fetus live? A recent case in California shows that such a question is not hypothetical.Trisha Marshall died of a gunshot wound to the head on April 21 while she was 17 weeks pregnant. David Smith, the father, asked hospital officials to do whatever they could to save the fetus. Marshall's body was kept on life support machines at Highland Hospital in Oakland in the hope that her fetus would develop to the point where it could live.

Police investigate double shooting in Hampden 1 Baltimore City police were investigating a double shooting that occurred late Saturday on The Avenue in Hampden. The shooting in the 1000 block of W. 36th St. was reported at 11:02 p.m., according to Detective Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. One person was shot in the leg and another person was shot in the arm, Monroe said. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. Additional information was not immediately available. - Baltimore Sun staff Balto.

Md. Teachers Association changing its name The Maryland State Teachers Association, the union that represents the majority of Maryland public school employees, is changing its name to the Maryland State Education Association, effective Tuesday, to better reflect the range of its members who are not teachers. Formed in 1866, the association originally only recruited teachers as members but has changed over the years to welcome other education-related professionals such as administrators, support employees, students majoring in education and retired teachers.

Horse racing Jockey 'not likely to walk' after accident, agent says Jockey Rene Douglas may be paralyzed after being thrown from his mount during a race at Arlington Park, his agent said. Dennis Cooper said Douglas spent seven hours in surgery on Sunday at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital and afterward doctors told him his client could not feel his lower limbs. Cooper said doctors won't know Douglas' status for certain until swelling reduces in about two weeks. "They said he might not walk again ... he'll probably have use of his upper body, but they gave it to me straight that he's not likely to walk," Cooper told Bloodhorse.

A man was fatally shot on a sidewalk in Southeast Baltimore yesterday afternoon, an incident that led to a car accident between the vehicles of the responding officer and another person, shutting down a four-block stretch of Lombard Street during rush hour. Police also said that a man was on life support after being shot in the head in an apartment hallway in Southwest Baltimore on Thursday night. The shootings continued a wave of violence that began in November, and police this week detailed several crime prevention initiatives.

Medevac missions well worth the risk As a 33-year veteran of the fire service and a licensed Maryland paramedic, I can personally attest to instances of lives saved by advanced life-support air medical transport ("Advantages of medevac transport challenged," Oct. 5). While there are documented cases of patients being re-triaged upon arrival at Shock Trauma or one of our many associated specialty referral centers, the benefits of these missions greatly outweigh the risks. When you compare the air miles and hours of completed transportation missions with the number of tragedies that have befallen this system, one cannot honestly question the appropriateness of medevac services.

Life Support is the kind of film that separates HBO from every other commercial channel on television. First, it stars Queen Latifah, who is normally seen on the big screen in feature films like Chicago. But more importantly, it offers an enlightened and touching exploration of AIDS in the African-American community - the kind of controversial and potentially downbeat topic that prime-time network TV steadfastly avoids. Life Support premieres at 8 Saturday night on HBO - with 15 additional showings throughout the month.

A 56-year-old West Baltimore man died yesterday morning after he was shot in the head last week while sitting on his porch, police said. Floyd Cook was sitting on the steps outside his home in the 1800 block of Presstman St. when he was caught in gunfire intended for a 24-year-old man, city police said yesterday. The intended target survived the shooting, police said. Cook remained on life support at Maryland Shock Trauma Center until yesterday, when police said it was turned off at 7:25 a.m. Police have no suspects.

If only the 19th-century sailors who served aboard the USS Constellation had had it as good as the guests at the USS Constellation Museum's "7th Annual Blast!" Large dining tables were set up fore and aft, gold tablecloths fluttering in the breeze. There was a raw bar, and a dinner buffet of poached salmon, grilled veggies and other edible delights. And, not only a regular bar, but also two others -- one with designer beers, the other with margaritas and cosmopolitans. Partygoers included museum president Herbert Frerichs and board members Dave Beck, Nancy Bloom, Steve Bockmiller, Jack Elsby, Lou Miller, Paul Shea and Ed Tharp.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday, a chaplain, a doctor and other health care workers prayed in Terri Schiavo's room, gave her Holy Communion through her feeding tube and then tearfully disconnected the life support that has kept her alive for 15 years. The intimate service behind the walls of the hospice where Schiavo has been cared for during the past five years belied the drama playing out in Washington, Tallahassee and courtrooms on both sides of Tampa Bay. It pitted Congress against Florida's state court system, religious beliefs against long-standing right-to-die laws and a distraught husband against his grief-stricken in-laws.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Unless a court grants her parents another delay, Michael Schiavo plans to remove the feeding tube keeping his wife alive early this afternoon, allowing the severely brain-damaged woman to die. An attorney for Schiavo said he is authorized to remove the life support for his wife as soon as the 2nd District Court of Appeal issues an order that finalizes its last ruling against his in-laws in their seven-year legal battle to keep their...