Sad But True

In February 2007, Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pond, and three of their four children planned a cruise to celebrate Janice and Lisa's 18th anniversary. But Lisa Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

And simply because they were a gay couple, and therefore not considered a real family, hospital workers refused to let Janice Langbehn into Lisa Pond's hospital room. Even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital , Janice Langbehn was refused admittance to her wife's room, because they were not legally related.

Lisa Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites.

Well, last Wednesday, Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami charging hospital employees with negligence and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000.

"I never thought almost 20 years of love and family could be disregarded in an instant," Langbehn said.

Hospital officials wouldn't comment about the lawsuit but said the hospital follows state and federal laws on patient privacy that can forbid releasing health information to those outside the patient's immediate family.

Immediate family? Who's more immediate than a wife and the couple's children? Oh, but I forget; a lesbian couple cannot marry and are therefore considered less than a family.

Federal health privacy laws allow the hospital to limit visitors if a patient is being treated for a trauma, emergency or serious infection; those same laws say hospitals should not disclose details about a patient except to the nearest family member or someone with power of attorney. But remember, even after Langbehn provided a power of attorney to the hospital she was not allowed to see her partner.

I don't think a lot of people understand this, but gay couples are not allowed to simply live their lives, to just be; we need documentation of who we are to one another, and powers of attorney so we can make decisions regarding our loved ones or just visit their hospital room. We need briefcases of documents just to prove we are who we say we are...couples, families.

That isn't fair. That isn't equal. That isn't right.

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After Lisa Pond died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2007, her organs were harvested for transplant. Two days after her death, Jerry Lawrence was given Lisa Pond's heart.

This past week Janice Langbehn met Jerry Lawrence. That's Janice in the picture, on the left, with Jerry Lawrence and his wife Maxine.

“This is the best outcome I could hope for,” Langbehn said Saturday upon meeting Lawrence and his wife, Maxine. “Lisa is inside of him.”

Lisa Pond had a heart to give.

Too bad Jackson Memorial Hospital didn't.