Life Support

ARLINGTON, Va. -- A brain-dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support yesterday and died, a day after giving birth. "This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, the woman's brother-in-law, said in a statement. Susan Torres, a cancer-stricken, 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in May after the melanoma spread to her brain. Her family decided to keep her alive to give her fetus a chance.

PrideStar EMS has announced its acquisition of Andover-based Health Tech Ambulance Service. PrideStar CEO David Daly said the combined company will offer improved clinical care through more advanced technology, including advanced life support and GPS systems. Health Tech brought 20 trucks and more than 30 employees to the deal, all of whom will remain with the company. Combined with the five new trucks PrideStar picked up on its own, the new company will have 50 vehicles based out of three locations: PrideStar's Stedman Street headquarters in Lowell; Health Tech's base in Andover, and a third office in Nashua.

Springfield police say a shooting victim who had been on life support since 2002 has died, turning the incident into a homicide investigation in which detectives are seeking new leads. The Republican of Springfield reports ( http://bit.ly/v9N08x) that 30-year-old Louis L. White died Dec. 2, more than nine years after being shot while walking on a city street. Police and Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni say they hope people will step forward with new leads in White's shooting, which was attributed at the time to tensions among youth gangs.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The death toll in a fire at a West Virginia home has risen to nine after police said a 7-year-old boy was taken off life support at a Charleston hospital. Jason Bausley of Dunbar, who lost his niece and several other relatives in the fire, said Sunday that the family made the decision to take 7-year-old Bryan Timothy Camp off life support. Charleston Police Sgt. Bobby Eggleton says the child was taken off life support between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday.

CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. -- Six-year-old Donnie Hauser-Richerme knew he couldn't swim, but he also knew the little girl in the murky, debris-filled swimming pool was in trouble. Donnie jumped in and helped save 5-year-old Karah Moran's life before becoming stuck in 5 feet of blackened rainwater and muck at the bottom of the deep end. Paramedics eventually rescued him, but he was on life support in critical condition yesterday. Karah called Donnie "my hero. " Chicago Ridge Police Chief Tim Baldermann said: "I can't say enough about this little guy. It's amazing that this little...

A 5-year-old girl whose mother is charged with drowning her sister and trying to kill her remained hospitalized on life support Tuesday morning until her organs can be harvested, authorities said. The father of Marian Valle donated her organs on Monday but she will remain on life support for up to 48 hours until her heart, liver, lungs and kidneys can be removed, according to an email Tuesday from Luis Carrillo, the attorney representing the family. Police had said Monday that the girl had been taken off of life support but representatives on Tuesday morning said...

Navy officials have confirmed that a Navy SEAL who accidentally shot himself in the head has died. Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Frank Magallon tells the U-T San Diego ( http://bit.ly/ycqw4O) that Petty Officer 3rd Class Gene "Geno" Clayont, Jr. was taken off life support on Saturday. He is survived by his parents and three sisters. San Diego police were called on Thursday after the accident. Police say Clayton had gone to a bar and brought a woman back to his apartment and was showing her guns when he put a pistol to his head, believing it was unloaded, and pulled the trigger.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The death toll in a fire at a West Virginia home has risen to nine after police said a 7-year-old boy was taken off life support at a Charleston hospital. Jason Bausley of Dunbar, who lost his niece and several other relatives in the fire, said Sunday that the family made the decision to take 7-year-old Bryan Timothy Camp off life support. Charleston Police Sgt. Bobby Eggleton says the child was taken off life support between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday.

SEOUL - The Supreme Court ordered a Seoul hospital to heed a family's request to suspend life support for a 76-year-old woman in a coma, a landmark ruling that heralded a shift in South Korean attitudes on death. South Korea's societal mores and laws have largely been shaped by Confucian ideals that call for preserving and honoring the body. As recently as 2004, two doctors who took a severely brain-damaged patient off life support were convicted of "abetting murder" and received suspended prison terms.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- A brain-dead woman is being kept on life support in hopes that her 21-week-old fetus survives, and the woman's husband said he is certain that's what she would have wanted. Jason Torres said doctors believe the fetus could have a chance if Susan Torres is kept alive for another month and her cancer stays away from her uterus. He said he decided to keep his wife on life support when doctors at Virginia Hospital Center offered him the chance to disconnect the machines after concluding she would not recover.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A fatal weekend house fire in Charleston claimed its ninth victim Sunday, when a 7-year-old boy died after being removed from life support. Jason Bausley of Dunbar, who lost his niece and several other relatives in the fire, said Sunday that the family made the decision to take Bryan Timothy Camp off life support. Seven children and two adults died in the blaze early Saturday. Talma Isabell, who lost her daughter and five grandchildren in the fire, joined other relatives gathered at Maranatha Fellowship Church in St. Albans on Sunday, where they got hugs and...

After the multiple disasters in the Midwest, a story of hope has emerged from North Carolina, where three children survived after being torn from their beds by a tornado early Saturday. The twister sucked Jamal Stevens, 7, from his room and threw him about 100 feet from his Charlotte area house, alongside an interstate highway. His sisters, Amber, 3, and Ayanna, 4, were found in nearby yards. But all three survived with only cuts, bruises, and a story to tell for the rest of their lives.

LOS ANGELES - A 5-year-old girl whose mother is charged with drowning her sister and trying to kill her remained hospitalized on life support yesterday until her organs can be harvested, authorities said. The father of Marian Valle donated her organs on Monday but she will remain on life support for up to 48 hours until her heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys can be removed, according to an e-mail yesterday from Luis Carrillo, the attorney representing the family. Police had said Monday that the girl had been taken off of life support, but representatives yesterday said that,...

A 5-year-old girl whose mother is charged with drowning her sister and trying to kill her remained hospitalized on life support Tuesday morning until her organs can be harvested, authorities said. The father of Marian Valle donated her organs on Monday but she will remain on life support for up to 48 hours until her heart, liver, lungs and kidneys can be removed, according to an email Tuesday from Luis Carrillo, the attorney representing the family. Police had said Monday that the girl had been taken off of life support but representatives on Tuesday morning said that, according...

Navy officials have confirmed that a Navy SEAL who accidentally shot himself in the head has died. Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Frank Magallon tells the U-T San Diego ( http://bit.ly/ycqw4O) that Petty Officer 3rd Class Gene "Geno" Clayont, Jr. was taken off life support on Saturday. He is survived by his parents and three sisters. San Diego police were called on Thursday after the accident. Police say Clayton had gone to a bar and brought a woman back to his apartment and was showing her guns when he put a pistol to his head, believing it was unloaded, and pulled the trigger.

PHOENIX - It will be a special Christmas for the family of a 21-year-old University of Arizona student who was nearly taken off life support before awaking from a coma. Sam Schmid was walking and speaking yesterday at a Phoenix hospital. Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, he was able to use a walker and talk in brief sentences. "Right now, I'm feeling all right . . . except for the rehabilitation, I'm feeling pretty good," Schmid said. Doctors at Barrow Neurological Institute said Schmid has a long recovery ahead of him to regain full speech, balance, and memory...

LOS ANGELES - A 5-year-old girl whose mother is charged with drowning her sister and trying to kill her remained hospitalized on life support yesterday until her organs can be harvested, authorities said. The father of Marian Valle donated her organs on Monday but she will remain on life support for up to 48 hours until her heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys can be removed, according to an e-mail yesterday from Luis Carrillo, the attorney representing the family. Police had said Monday that the girl had been taken off of life support, but representatives yesterday said that,...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A fatal weekend house fire in Charleston claimed its ninth victim Sunday, when a 7-year-old boy died after being removed from life support. Jason Bausley of Dunbar, who lost his niece and several other relatives in the fire, said Sunday that the family made the decision to take Bryan Timothy Camp off life support. Seven children and two adults died in the blaze early Saturday. Talma Isabell, who lost her daughter and five grandchildren in the fire, joined other relatives gathered at Maranatha Fellowship Church in St. Albans on Sunday, where they got hugs and...

Springfield police say a shooting victim who had been on life support since 2002 has died, turning the incident into a homicide investigation in which detectives are seeking new leads. The Republican of Springfield reports ( http://bit.ly/v9N08x) that 30-year-old Louis L. White died Dec. 2, more than nine years after being shot while walking on a city street. Police and Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni say they hope people will step forward with new leads in White's shooting, which was attributed at the time to tensions among youth gangs.