FORT WORTH — A North Texas family is racing to stop a hospital from amputating a patient's foot, saying the procedure violates their religious rights.
The situation is now so tense that Angela Wright's husband has been barred from the hospital where she is being treated.
Wright had her first heart attack two months ago. Her family immediately began calling prayer groups, asking fellow Christians to appeal to God.
They kept praying through five more heart attacks.
"It's everything," said Dwight Wright. "It's the reason my wife's still here, I believe."
Angela Wright remained at Baylor All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth Friday as the toes on her left foot blackened. Family members say doctors want to amputate, possibly going as far up as her knee.
That evaluation has led to a showdown. Family members say prayer needs more time to work, and an amputation would violate their religious rights; doctors say the amputation is medically necessary.
Jodee Wright, who had just visited her mother, recounted the conversation she had with the patient: "Do you want your toes amputated? She said, 'No, I'm scared to death of losing my other foot.'"
Wright lost part of her other leg due to a blood clot nearly 20 years ago.
"There hadn't been a day that's been by since 1992 that she hasn't asked me why didn't I get her out of the hospital? Why did I let them amputate her leg? So why in her right mind would she want anything else amputated?" Dwight Wright asked.
The family concedes, however, that at other times Angela said "yes" to the doctors asking for permission to amputate. They blame medication and trauma, and say they should be allowed to make the decision on her behalf.
"I want her here; but I want her to have every opportunity she can have to keep the rest of her foot, because that's all she's got," Dwight Wright said.
On Friday morning, the hospital removed Angela's husband from her room and barred him from the the facility. A hospital spokesman said Wright made threats to hospital staff, and was "impeding the patient from making decisions about her care." He denies the allegations.
As of Friday night, the amputation had not been carried out.
E-mail chawes@wfaa.com
