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screams of 'racism' got him a heart that could have gone to someone else. looks like he didn't 'turn his life around' after all
Quote:
He promised to change his misguided ways if he got a new heart, but evidently troubled Anthony Stokes was unable to make good on those vows.
The Georgia teen died Tuesday after a botched home invasion, crashing a stolen car and ending the troubled life that was extended back in 2013, when he got a controversial heart transplant.
Stokes, 17, wrecked the carjacked sedan into a pole as he tried to flee police, authorities said, and the elderly Roswell woman he shot during a botched robbery was in stable condition in a hospital. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.2169324
Stokes, whose exclusion sparked outrage across the country, was hospitalized for an enlarged heart four weeks ago before being told in a letter from doctors that he was not a transplant candidate "due to having a history of non-compliance."
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At 15, Stokes has had a problem getting into fights.
At the time of his hospitalization the teen had been sentenced to house arrest by a judge due to his inability to physically control himself over what his mother called anger issues.
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.. that assessment by doctors was enough to earn him a death sentence, according to Hamilton (his mother).
Adult transplant surgeon Dr. David Dean from Piedmont Healthcare told WXIA that a patient said to have a "history of non-compliance" would usually mean they have a history of drugs or alcohol use or don't follow doctor orders.
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. But at seventeen years of age there's not much "past behavior" to go by.
I suppose you could say that a new heart is not sufficient rehabilitation for changing behavior. Once you've got the new heart the fear that would precipitate change would be removed.
Would more psychological help and change of environment made the difference? How much money needs to be spent to save a life? Are some lives worth more than others?
IIRC Mickey Mantle received a new liver and then continued drinking until it killed him.
Such a waste. Wouldn't it be difficult to be put in the position of deciding who should receive a new organ and who shouldn't?
What a shame the kid used his second chance to continue his criminal ways.
The Heart transplant was a gift of life to him. Gifts don't come with rules, like if you gave a bike to a kid and he took it out and jumped over a ramp and wrecked it. You would probably get him another bike.
In this case the gift of the heart and how special his second chance was actually wasted on him.
I have a friend whose 40 something nephew, an alcoholic, had a liver transplant five years ago. He has destroyed his new liver through his continued drinking (in his mind, the new liver gave him permission to continue to drink) and he is in liver failure once again, and not expected to survive the year. His parents actually are trying to get him back on the transplant list to get another liver.
Organs are a precious commodity and compliance is key in transplants. At 17, this kid had a chance to change his behavior and thus his life. What a sad story.
There's a lesson in this if people really wanted things to improve.
There is no knowledge in emotions and envy.
Doctors and other professionals usually know what they are talking about. Instead of claiming something is unfair right off the bat and making a bunch of protests - take some time and examine yourself and see how you can help yourself.
Major decisions should not be made based solely on emotional arguments.
He was given a second chance and blew it, that does not mean he never deserved one. I can see why they refused him initially. Sad ending for sure, but that's life sometimes
The hospital had a list of requirements he had to meet in order to receive the new heart. As far as I can tell he was refused because of failure to comply with doctors' orders in the past. I don't see anything mentioning him being refused for past criminal behavior.
So that leaves me wondering if he was complying with doctors' orders now. If he was then there was no medical reason for his death. If true, that leads to some interesting ethical questions.
Should people with criminal behavior or any kind of dangerous habits or hobbies be refused transplants because they are more likely to die even if they follow doctors' orders?
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