Huntsville Hospital Kills Child: Permanently Disabled 1y/o Later Died

Welcome to Alabama, where the legal concept of respondeat superior apparently does NOT apply.

Some would call this murder.

If a person driving drunk kills someone, nowadays, they’re charged with murder – even though they did not plan, or intend upon killing someone (the element of premeditation, or forethought).

But why isn’t Huntsville Hospital charged with murder? (It’s kinda’ difficult to charge a corporation with murder, but it’s quite possible that the officers can be indicted or charged.)

And why aren’t those directly responsible (those in the Recovery Room who were responsible for Gracie’s care) charged with Murder?

It’s painfully obvious some things MUST change in Alabama regarding healthcare.

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Girl disabled, later dies, after tonsillectomy at Huntsville Hospital; Alabama public hospitals‘ liability capped at $100,000

By Challen Stephens | cstephens@al.com on December 03, 2012 at 1:03 PM, updated December 03, 2012 at 4:18 PM

Randy Smith and Deedee Smith talk about raising a child with disabilities while Gracelynn, 5, sits in her wheelchair during an interview in their home Monday, November 19, 2012 in Athens, Ala. (Eric Schultz / eschultz@al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Four years ago, Gracie knew a few dozen words and had just learned to walk backwards. But Gracie had a little trouble breathing at night. Doctors said it would only get worse, so they decided to remove her tonsils.

The surgery lasted less than 15 minutes.

In the recovery room at Huntsville Hospital, Gracie was standing on her bed calling for her mother. “We were told she was having difficulty coming out of anesthesia,” said her father Randy Smith. Nurses said the girl needed to rest to recover. In the recovery room, the family says, she was allowed to stop breathing for more than 10 minutes.

Dan Aldridge, attorney for the Smiths, said Gracie “was not connected to the customary monitoring equipment that sounds an alarm if vital signs reach a dangerous zone.” He said the nurses, three of them, were in the recovery room. At one point, her mother voiced concern. “I was told, ‘Mom, now don’t wake her up, if we get her up, we will never calm her down,” said Dee Dee Smith. “My response was she was not breathing.”

Dee Dee said one of the nurses touched the girl’s foot. It was cold. Aldridge said “code” was called. Medical staff poured into the room. Gracie would spend the next 18 hours in a coma. When Dee Dee finally got to hold her girl again, the girl’s eyes were open but

Toomer’s Oaks May Have Fighting Chance

In a previous entry, I shared that Auburn University‘s historic Toomer’s Corner oak trees were poisoned with the powerful herbicide Spike 80DF, according to a telephone call made by the now-arrested prime suspect, 62-year-old Harvey Almorn Updyke of Dadeville, AL.

Mr. Updyke called the Paul Finebaum sports radio talk show and confessed on air that, “The weekend after the Iron Bowl, I went to Auburn, Alabama – because I live 30 miles away – and I poisoned the two Toomer’s trees. I put Spike 80DF in ‘em.“

In that entry entitled “Arrest Made in Poisoning of Auburn’s Historic Toomer’s Corner Oak Tree,” I remarked that “There may be some saving grace in this issue because warm weather and Spring have not arrived with any consistency yet, and therefore the trees may not yet be in bud, and (I suppose) do not yet have foliage, thus preventing significant uptake of poison.”

Now, it seems that at least one other voice concurs.

And, that’s good news!

Expert: Toomer’s trees may stand a chance

By Elizabeth Zimmerman

The outlook for the poisoned trees at Toomer’s Corner is grim, but they may

Friendship, Love, Passion, Politics, Sarcasm and Shoes

Friendship, Love, Passion, Politics, Sarcasm and Shoes

Recently, I enjoyed a virtual chat with a dear, long-time friend of mine. We began our friendship, interestingly enough, over a pair of shoes. I needed one, and he had one – pair of shoes, that is – so I bought them from him. He is a skilled tradesman and business owner/entrepreneur, and educated me on what makes a good pair of shoes and boots.

His demeanor impressed me, and we found that we had several common interests – perhaps chief among them music – and a love of