Mother Of Jahi McMath Posts New Photo, Claims Girl Is 'Healthy'
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – More than two years after she was declared brain dead following surgery at Children's Hospital Oakland, the mother of 15-year-old Jahi McMath claimed her daughter is doing well in a recent Facebook post.
NJ.com reported Nailah Winkfield, Jahi's mother, posted a new picture of the both of them along with a brief message on the "Keep Jahi on life support" Facebook page on March 15th.
"Jahi as healthy and beautiful as ever, proving the naysayers wrong," the message read in part.
As of Monday, the post was no longer accessible to the public.
In late 2013, Jahi suffered a heart attack after suffering complications from a tonsillectomy. She was moved from the Bay Area to a care facility in New Jersey in 2014, following a legal battle between her family and the hospital.
Several experts declared her brain dead and the Alameda County coroner issued a death certificate for Jahi, but her family received a court injunction to prevent the hospital from removing taking her off life support. The hospital and the family eventually reached an agreement where Jahi was allowed to leave the hospital if her mother took responsibility for the girl's care.
New Jersey is one of the few states where a brain death diagnosis can be rejected on religious grounds.
Jahi's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking to have her death certificate revoked and a lawsuit against the hospital. The girl's estranged father has also filed a separate lawsuit against the hospital and the doctor who performed the operation.