CALGARY – A pair of Calgary lawyers have agreed to help Alberta parents fighting to keep their infant daughter alive.
Brendan Miller and Lynsey Mincher are donating their services to Will Mammo and Anna Motsyk, parents of eight-month-old Hermella.
They won a temporary injunction Monday to stop doctors from taking the little girl off of life support without their consent this week.
Hermella was declared brain dead in August.
When she was two-and-a-half months old, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, called an adrenal cortical tumor.
Hermella’s parents said she was cancer-free following chemotherapy, but in September, doctors discovered a viral infection, which led to her current condition.
Her parents said her condition began improving in September, and want more time to see if that will continue.
On Thursday Miller obtained evidence and affidavits related to the case from the legal teams for Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the doctors involved in Hermella’s care.
Miller told Global News he saw the story of baby Hermella in the news and felt the need to offer his services.
“You’re dealing with a life or death situation, and you are a lawyer and have the ability to help,” Miller said.
Mincher is a former prosecutor for Child and Family Services, and Miller has done extensive work with child protection and child welfare law.
Both lawyers have worked on similar cases in the past, and said that’s why Mammo and Motsyk chose them.
Miller said there is currently no legislation in Alberta to deal with this issue, unlike in Ontario.
“These people have already spent their life savings. They are entitled to a fair hearing, and you can’t get a fair hearing for something as complex as this without a lawyer.”
The Lethbridge parents previously represented themselves in court.
Miller and Mincher are looking at getting additional opinions on Hermella’s case from other expert doctors.
Her parents said they aren’t asking to have Hermella on life support indefinitely, but they want to give her more time to see if she will get better. They said they’ve seen a constant improvement since September.
“Our daughter opens her eyes whenever we talk to her,” Mammo said Monday. “When there is light in the room she opens her eyes…Her fingers, her toes move—all her limbs move. She responds to music, her heart rate rises whenever you talk to her.”
The Queen’s Bench Justice will rule on this case Jan. 4. The do not resuscitate (DNR) order remains in place.
Watch below: Alberta parents explain fight to keep daughter on life support in a Monday interview outside court
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