“I’m sorry, but I can’t hold it in any longer. [T]oday my baby came home and I’m filled with joy and emotions right now,” the post from Trinity dated April 7 read.
Trinity went on to say that the journey has been hard and stressful but added that Tinslee is doing well.
On October 31, 2019, Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth told Trinity that they were invoking the 10-day rule, a law in Texas that allows a hospital to tell a family that they will be removing treatment at the end of a 10-day period.
Tinslee was born prematurely in February 2019 with Ebstein’s anomaly, a rare and often terminal heart disease that required significant intensive care.
Trinity fought for her daughter to continue receiving treatment. In November 2019, she won a restraining order that prohibited the hospital from removing treatment. In December 2019, a local trial court ruled in the hospital’s favor, allowing them to end treatment, but the Lewis family immediately appealed.
The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth granted the family’s emergency motion and eventually issued an opinion, saying that Cook Children’s decision to remove treatment violated Trinity’s due process rights. The Texas Supreme Court declined to take up the case, so the decision by the Fort Worth appellate court remained.
In January 2021, the case found its way to the United States Supreme Court on appeal by the hospital, which continued to seek to remove treatment from the toddler who was approaching two years old. The court declined to grant the appeal.
Texas Right to Life, which assisted the family in the fight for Tinslee’s continued treatment, said in an email to The Texan, “The social media post is correct. We are incredibly thankful for everyone who banded together to help this little girl get to the next stage: home with her family. Please continue to keep the Lewis family and Tinslee in your prayers.”
“The medical teams at Cook Children’s have dedicated their lives to healing children, and go to tireless lengths to do what they believe in their hearts and minds to be the very best decision for each and every patient,” Cook Children’s Health Care System said in response to The Texan’s inquiry.
Trinity thanked her family, her lawyers, and her supporters along with Cook Children’s in her post. She ended the post “Tinslee Strong.”
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Kim Roberts
Kim Roberts is a regional reporter for the Texan in the DFW metroplex area where she has lived for over twenty years. She has a Juris Doctor from Baylor University Law School and a Bachelor's in government from Angelo State University. In her free time, Kim home schools her daughter and coaches high school extemporaneous speaking and apologetics. She has been happily married to her husband for 23 years, has three wonderful children, and two dogs.