A bold Bronx judge has become “father” to a dying boy after issuing an emergency injunction blocking doctors from taking Teron Francis off life support.
And after making his stunning order on Friday, state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon visited the brain-dead child at Montefiore Hospital and stayed with him until 2 a.m.
“I saw a father,” said Annmarie Douglas, the child’s aunt.
After meeting with doctors, McKeon went to Teron’s mother, Marcerlyn, and said, “When you asked me to put my signature on that [court] order, you gave me another child. He’s just like my own,” according to Annmarie Douglas.
The jurist’s words are actually law, said a legal expert with knowledge of the case. When the well-being of a child in this situation is disputed, the juvenile actually becomes a ward of the judge, the expert said.
Late Friday night, McKeon went to the hospital and met with family members, their lawyer and a team of doctors to discuss Teron’s situation.
They hammered out an agreement to keep the boy on a respirator but “not take extraordinary measures to resuscitate the child” if his heart stops, said family lawyer Robert Genis.
McKeon has been a judge since 1989 and has been a known as a controversial if compassionate figure. He was censured in 1998 for using his authority to try to expedite medical benefits for the sick child of a recently hired city lawyer.