Sara Harvey has been battling with Chemung County over legal guardianship of her husband, Gary, who suffered a severe brain injury in a 2006 fall.
State Supreme Court Judge Robert Mulvey determined that Sara Harvey was not a suitable guardian for her husband, and designated the county as legal guardian instead.
Since that time, Sara Harvey has been restricted to supervised visits only with her husband following several unusual incidents, according to county attorney Bryan Maggs.
At the same time, Sara Harvey claims Gary has received inadequate care in the county nursing facility and later St. Joseph's Hospital. She is pursuing legal action to win guardianship and bring him home.
But other members of Gary Harvey's family now say that Sara Harvey is slanting the story, and that it's time for the public to know the whole truth.
"It's all about Sara, not what my dad would want. He would not want this to be publicized like this," said Heather Harvey of Elmira, Gary Harvey's daughter from a previous marriage. "If she actually loved him, she would put what he wants first.
"We're very happy with his care. I appreciate the nursing staff and doctors," Heather Harvey said. "We believe he's gotten the best care he can. I just want what's best for him. It's all about him."
Full Article and Source:
Family Members Speak Out in Dispute of Treatment of Comatose Man
18 comments:
I wonder how Heather Harvey can be "pleased with his care" when she hasn't witnessed it.
She lives in the same town and yet has only see her father once or twice? And now she's an expert?
Come on!
It's all about Sara? What a selfish thing to say. Sara has been at her husband's side every day (except for those when she has been barred). The daughter is being used by the county as a pawn in an on-going attempt to deflect the attention from their abuse and neglect and onto Sara.
Heather, this isn't about Sara. It's about your father who has languished in a nursing facility for over three years when he should have been at home. It's about Chemung County trying to end his life and make him suffer to death. It's about abuse and neglect for profit. You don't have to like or get along with Sara; that's not the issue. But, she is your father's advocate and instead of complaining, you owe here a great debt. She has not deserted your father; instead she has fought hard for him. I suggest you put your anomosity for Sara aside and focus on your father.
I suggest Heather reads www.HelpBringGaryHome.com and think about reconsidering what she's done here.
"He said; she said."
The truth is in the medical records - unless they were altered, of course.
it is always a good idea to be suspicious of positions and allegations from persons from previous marriages keeping an open mind about motive Heather Harvey may have her own agenda motives and found a way of getting back at payback to a person who may have changed their lives forgetting that their dad Gary Harvey made a decision about ending a marriage as millions of others have done and will do in the future when a marriage ends
Put your dad first instead of yourself for once in your life. Why don’t you and your mother put an end to this crusade you have with Sara. Stop it and honor your father’s wishes. That would clearly be in his best interest “of what he would want”. Take your personal feelings out of this. You have no idea what this man has gone through; you said it yourself once or twice a year in the same town for god’s sake. It is too hard on you is pretty selfish in my book. How do you think it is for your dad? So how dare you judge what good care is by a phone from the very devil that abused your dad. So in part you did this to your dad too. You are saying yes to the abuse and neglect and them trying to kill him in a slow torturous death while you sit by and watch him die painfully. Oh forgot that would make it 3 times a year for a visit. Forgot you would not be there to see that. You are one sick person. Your mental balance must be off.
You are only hearing one side. You have not seen what Sara has. I encourage you to talk to Sara, that’s if she will talk to you, and hear for yourself what she sees. She should know she was there everyday.
If the devil himself called you and told you that you can’t get drunk on alcohol or you won’t get high on crack trust me I telling you the truth, would you believe him because he said so. That is what you are doing to the ones who are telling you they give such good care. Do you know how stupid you sound? Wake up and get your head out of the bottle and your nose out of the sugar cane sweetie.
Before you judge there are two sides to the story. You have only heard one. After you get both stories then you can decide for your self and make a clear conscious decision.
Did you not see the states report on that nursing home?
You are indeed the selfish one.
I don't think Heather has any idea what it's really like to have a loved on in a facility. There is no 24 hour care nor one on one care. Patients often lie in their beds or sit up in their chairs for hours with no one attending them.
Spend a few hours at a nursing facility and you will change your mind.
Not every facility is bad, but almost all of them are.
Your father should be home, where he will receive one on one care every day. He will be in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his familiar things. Don't you want that for him?
I suggest your problems with Sara are just that - your problems with Sara. It's a totally different issue than the abuse and neglect he has suffered while under the control of the county.
Please read the NASGA website. Guardianship abuse is real and your Dad is living proof of it.
I say "living proof" because the fact is he is alive today - and living - because of Sara.
There are more than one side to every story, but the side presented here by Gary Harvey's daughter is irrelevant to the guardianship.
This is about the guardianship.
If you want what's best for your dad, Heather, you'll support Sara's efforts to advocate for proper care and to bring him home.
Folks, this is so obvious people with an ax to grind family members with their own personal agenda taking advantage of media opportunity to cause pain to Sara and indirectly hurting Gary Harvey and that folks is the proof that those who want to harm Sara who is Gary's wife need to search their sorry souls for their motives because we can see through this bs.
Why the personal attacks on Heather? She did not personally attack Sara.
If Gary goes home with Sara, is she going to take care of him? She can't possibly have enough medical care training/experience to take care of him herself. And she can't afford to pay for an in house nurse (as evidenced by the fact that she dropped Gary from her insurance b/c of money problems, and couldn't/didn't want to pay for supervised visits when that $ ran out.) So who's going to take care of him if/when he does get home? I'm sorry folks, but the proximity to emergency care that Gary has now presides over Sara's comfort of having Gary home, and the supposed 'loneliness' you claim he has. He wouldn't be so lonely if his wife didn't do such irrational things.
Anonomyous 5: I see it differently than you. I see Heather's "speaking out" as an attempt to discount Sara who is her father's advocate.
WHEN Gary comes home, Sara won't be caring for him alone. He's a Veteran and there are other programs for home care. There will be doctors and nurses involved.
Do you think Gary's getting one on one care in the hospital or was he getting one on one care in the nursing facility? No way!
Hey, maybe Heather can volunteer to help take care of her Dad too.
"Irrational things"? I think the County attempting to terminate Gary's life was more than irrational. Gary should be protected from them.
No matter what you say about Sara, she is the one who saved Gary's life when the County removed his feeding tube, put him on DNR status and prepared to starve and dehydrate (torture) him to death.
It's an undisputed fact: the County tried to kill Gary Harvey. Sara Harvey saved him. The county doesn't want to talk about that, though; they'd rather focus on maligning Sara. Don't let them get away with it.
Lonliness isn't "supposed", Anon. If you were isolated from your family, you'd feel lonely. Gary Harvey's no different.
And, the issue of Sara's scheduled supervised visitations which are at risk of being terminated is another important issue that must be addressed and fixed now.
Life is difficult enough for Sara and Gary, but living under these conditions of a warden supervising visitation is another way for the guardian to keep Sara away and that is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Barbara - I did not say he needed one on one care - I said that his proximity to emergency care that he has now is important. If he's in such good health to go home as you say why is he in a hospital versus being in a nursing home or some other place? And why are you bringing up the county for trying to terminate his life and her saving him? Sounds like you are focusing on maligning the county as you say the county is doing.
I call 'Halo Effect' on that.
They can only hold a bed for long. NYS medicaid has there rules, while the county fighting to end Gary's life and his wife trying to save his life...time ran out for the room. TPN can be admisnisterd at home. Go to the Oley foundation and educate yourself. Nursing homes do not do IV's.
Good thing too look at what they do to feeding tubes. Did you look at the state report good golly oh molly.
This is about guardiianship abuse and sorry if this offends all you supporters of the government but that is what they tried to do by ending his life in a horrible death. Convicts don't get that kind of treatment.
Anon - I didn't say Gary Harvey is in good enough health to come home. Please re-read - I said "WHEN".
When Gary Harvey goes home, he'll also not be subjected to unnecessary virus and germs that are prevelent at nursing homes and the hospital. He will have 24 hour care - one on one care.
There's a whole new movement promoting home care over nursing facility placement not only because people generally get better care, but because it's cheaper in the long run to have people in their homes where they're not subjected to additional illnesses (which run up the Medicare/Medicaid tab).
Please re-phrase your statement about the county trying to terminate Gary Harvey's life - and why you think that's not important. I don't understand what you're trying to get at.
It's a fact that the county tried to terminate Gary Harvey's life and would have been successful if not for Sara Harvey advocating for him. Why would you consider statement of this fact as an attempt to "malign" the County?
Why wouldn't you be outraged that the County tried to end Gary Harvey's life?
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