The wrangling over this 20-year-old cancer patient continues as the young woman's mother says it's a doctor's job to prolong life, not to play God.
As a young woman who's been fighting brain cancer for two years, life for Aleyssia Sanders has been an uphill battle.
Her mother Shunta Brown said, "I said I'll be there every step of the way."
Brown planned to get her daughter additional medical treatment, but the 20-year-old cancer patient suffered a major setback. Aleyssia developed pneumonia and was rushed to Cypress Fairbanks Hospital. That was 35 days ago.
"Aleyssia told me before she got sick, she said, 'Mom, I'm not ready. I don't want to die,'" Brown recalled. "These are her words and she told me to fight to the end."
Brown says she was told that the hospital is for short-term care only, but when she arranged to have her daughter transferred to a different hospital for long-term care, she claims the doctor refused to sign the transfer order.
"She said that she's just going to die anyway and she has brain damage so there's no use of saving her life," Brown said.
As Aleyssia remains in a medically-induced coma, her parents are now contemplating legal action against the hospital.
On Tuesday afternoon the hospital released a statement saying, "At Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center we seek to provide the best and most appropriate care to each of our patients. We understand the sensitivity and difficulty of these situations. At this time we are diligently working to accommodate the family's wishes."
Brown said, "This is for God to decide."
Brown says even though the doctor says her daughter's chances of survival are slim, she's not giving up.
"When God takes her vitals and everything is red-lined, then that's fine. It's done, but I've done my part and I've kept my promise to my daughter," Brown said.
Brown says she is just not ready to let her daughter go.
