CNA Staff, Jun 30, 2020 / 15:10 pm
A woman in Texas says that her husband was denied treatment for COVID-19, was moved to a hospice, and then starved for six days after a doctor decided that his quality of life did not merit care due to his preexisting disabilities.
Michael Hickson 46, died on June 11, eight days after he was admitted to St. David's South Austin Medical Center with pneumonia. He had contracted the coronavirus from a staff member at his nursing home.
Hickson, a Black man, developed an anoxic brain injury and quadriplegia after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest in 2017.
After he was admitted to St. David's South Austin, his wife, Melissa Hickson, said she recorded a conversation she had with a doctor, where he explained that he did not want to administer coronavirus treatment to her husband because of his concerns that treatment would not improve Michael's quality of life. Melissa posted the video on YouTube.