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Reported by: Dan Wells Tuesday, Jul 24, 2007 @06:22pm EDT A snowboarding accident that killed an eighteen year old in March now has his family asking a lot of questions about what type of medical attention the teen actually received.
The victim was Greg Jacobs of Bellevue, Ohio, and it's a story that we first told you about months ago. Greg Jacobs, was airlifted to Hamot Medical Center by Lifestar after a skiing accident at Peek 'N Peak on March 13th. Medics say he was unresponsive during transport and that he suffered from severe head trauma. Authorities say Greg Jacobs died as a result of injuries he received in that accident. His parents claim they were duped into allowing their 18 year old son to die so his organs could be donated. "I saw Greg going down that hallway...it's been a nightmare." Mike Jacobs, Greg's father said. Terry Jacobs, Greg's mother described Greg as "just a wonderful person...a wonderful person." The Jacobs' say that accident turned into a nightmare for them, a nightmare that still hasn't ended. According to the Jacobs', after they got to Hamot Medical Center, they say they were pressured in to signing a DNR or "do not resuscitate" order, something they say they were not comfortable with. But Greg's dad, Mike, signed the order anyway...then Greg's condition got worse. "Full of strokes... half his head was stroked...the other part was stroked they showed us on the CAT scan. There was no hope. " said Mike Jacobs. "I have recently found out that once a person does sign a do not resuscitate order and they're in the hospital, CORE is called." said Terry Jacobs. CORE is the Center for Organ Recovery & Education. The Jacobs claim they were duped into allowing their 18 year old son to die so his organs could be taken. Mike Jacobs explained "from the very first day that I was there and walked into the pre-op room, I was told organ donation makes death easier. " A time listed on a Hamot Medical report seems to indicate Greg's organs were harvested before he was actually dead. Terry Jacobs claims that "they cut on my son at ten till six...29 minutes before they pronounced him dead. " Hamot says that's not the case. Dr. James Pepicello MD at Hamot Medical Center said "we are absolutely certain that no retrieval of any organs took place unit he was pronounced dead " Hamot says the time written down was a mistake. "We are aware of a discrepancy in the operative record from Hamot, it is an error in documentation. " - Dr. James Pepicello MD Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said that "I wrote in my report that I found out, after the fact, that this was a not a brain death protocol but a non-heart beating protocol which I've never been comfortable with." According to medical experts, a non-heart beating protocol means a patient does not meet the brain death criteria but is termed "hopeless" or "vegetative." Alicia Roshong, the Jacobs' Attorney claims that "they were duped into authorizing the killing of their child for body parts. That's what they feel." Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk is also looking into the situation. "I plan on personally reviewing it and discussing it with people I think would be appropriate to discuss it with." Dr. James Pepicello MD says that Greg didn't suffer. "We are certain he did not suffer or have any pain when those organs were retrieved." At this point criminal charges haven't been filed. ![]() |