Casey Kasem's children reportedly made the difficult decision to take their father off life support. According to Reuters, Kerri Kasem and her brother and sister chose to transition Casey back to comfort-oriented, end-of-life care at a Washington hospice facility.
The legendary DJ will live out his final days surrounded by his children, who have decided to withhold food, water and medication. Casey's healthcare has been the subject of a nasty battle between the children and Casey's wife, Jean Kasem.
On Monday, Jean won a court order that said Casey would be given nutrients as well as his usual medication but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Murphy said that continuing to give the DJ food and water was harmful, Reuters reports. Murphy agreed with Casey's physician and daughter Kerri, who is in charge of the DJ's healthcare, that withholding food and water was the best option.
"Transitioning our father's treatment to comfort-oriented care was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make," the children said in a statement, according to Reuters.
TMZ reports that the statement also included their dad's directive document, which states, "If the extension of life would result in mere biological existence, devoid of cognitive function, with no reasonable hope for normal functioning, then I do not desire any form of life-sustaining procedures, including nutrition and hydration."
Comfort-oriented care manages the patient's pain and withholds food and water that could be detrimental to the person's health, Kerri's attorney Martha Patterson told Reuters.
Patterson said water was starting to flood Casey's lungs and the food was putting him at risk of getting pneumonia. Casey's wife Jean and her attorney, Gregory Young, said they will continue to fight and believe that the 82-year-old is being "starved and cut off from medicine until he dies."
Casey, who also voiced Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo," was diagnosed with Lewy disease, a form of dementia. He is also said to be suffering from an infected bedsore.
