Updated at 4:30 p.m. Saturday with a statement from Tinslee's mother.
Tinslee Lewis, the baby who has been hospitalized with grave lung and heart problems since birth, turns 1 on Saturday.
For months, there has been a legal battle between Cook Children's Medical Center and Tinslee's family regarding the continuance of care.
The baby's condition requires her to be hooked up to machines so she can breathe and eat. The hospital said in court filings that Tinslee experiences a "dying event" nearly every day, and the medical staff has to manually inflate her lungs to keep her alive.
On Tuesday, The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth will hear oral arguments regarding the case. Tinslee's family has filed restraining orders to keep Cook Children's from removing her from life support.
The appellate court will consider whether to impose a temporary injunction, keeping her on life support.
Cook Children’s planned on taking the infant off life support in November, but Tinslee’s family won a restraining order.
Saturday afternoon, Tinslee’s mother, Trinity released the following statement:
“Tinslee had her first birthday today. I’m so grateful - because when we had just the 10 days in November, I thought her life would be over. But since then, Tinslee has kept fighting, her doctors and nurses tell me she’s improving, and now she’s one year old. Today, Tinslee got all dressed up, has gotten her hair done, and took some pretty pictures. She’s heavily sedated to keep her from pulling out her tubes, but she recognizes me and others who love her, and is able to open her eyes, move her arms, and grab my fingers. She is surrounded by so much love, not just from me and our family, but from people who are praying for her around the world.”
During a court hearing last year, Trinity took the stand. She told the judge how her baby likes having her nails painted, enjoys watching "Trolls" and loves getting her hair washed but not brushed.
In a brief filed in January, Cook’s Children described the exhaustive efforts to treat Tinslee. Medical professionals said it's impossible for Tinslee to do the things her mother claims.
"She cannot move. She cannot cuddle. She is rarely if ever, held," the brief says. "The physician who has been treating her since birth has never seen her smile."
Last year, Cook Children’s Medical Center determined that their efforts to help Tinslee were only causing the baby more suffering and pain, and they told the family they’d be removing life-sustaining treatment in 10 days in accordance with state law.
That law was signed in 1999 and allows hospitals to stop giving care, even at a patient's or loved one's objection if a hospital ethics committee votes to do so.
