The United States Department of Education Office For Civil Rights has opened an investigation into potential Title II and Title IX violations over the death of transgender teen, Nex Benedict.
A step in the right direction, I still don’t see anything about the medical malpractice that happened with not calling medical support after their head was put into the ground repeatedly
That has concerned me as well. Head injuries can often have hidden effects (e.g. brain bleeds) that come to light later. A brain bleed could well have been the cause of Nex's collapse and death. Alas, such was not investigated.
In those texts they described themself as having been "dizzy and nauseous" and said that if they were still feeling that way the next morning then they could have a concussion. My interpretation is that this is Nex relaying what the medical staff said to them, which raises the question of why they weren't kept in for observation overnight.
This treatment was at the Bailey Medical Center (according to its website, the largest hospital in Owasso with 73 beds). The school appears to have recommended that they be taken there, so I suspect that it may be difficult to pin anything on the school legally in respect of not calling for an ambulance, even though I agree it seems that their care was inadequate.
It's unclear whether anything was missed on the MRI or whether the treatment at the Bailey Medical Center that day was appropriate in other respects; we genuinely don't have enough information to tell. As far as I know, up to now there has been no allegation that it was inadequate. An MRI is potentially more sensitive than a CT scan for picking up brain/head injuries, but it's possible that it still didn't raise any red flags. Under circumstances like this there *should* be an internal investigation by the hospital that includes re-examining the MRI scan and the appropriateness of other treatment. I don't know what the requirements for that are under Oklahoma or federal law, or whether it will happen voluntarily (if not then that's something that activists can and should pressure the hospital for).
In any case, the investigation Erin is reporting here is of the Owasso Public Schools District, and specifically for the 2023-24 school year. We know from the testimony of another Owasso High School student, Eden (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8EDQy67/) that they and other students at the school have been harassed, and that another Oklahoma student, Eli Fritchley, committed suicide after intense homophobic bullying. I don't know whether Eli was at Owasso High School; his suicide was in late 2021, but I hope the investigation is extended to cover it if it was in the same district. We know already from Eden that Owasso High School has had a pattern of ignoring violence against trans students.
[Reworded due to uncertainty about whether Eli Fritchley attended Owasso High School.]
As far as I've been able to determine (as a lay person but with extensive experience of searching and interpreting medical literature), that isn't correct. There are some specific injuries for which an MRI scan might be more difficult to interpret than a CT scan, but for the vast majority of brain/head injuries, an MRI scan is more sensitive. Here is a directly relevant, fairly recent study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25646200/
CT is more commonly used than MRI for scans after head injury because CT scanners are faster and more widely available; not because there is any disadvantage in doing an MRI relative to CT, given availability of an MRI scanner and the time to do the scan. There's no reason to believe that a CT scan would have shown an injury that the MRI scan didn't in this case, and there's typically no indication to do both if an MRI is done initially. The verywellhealth link you gave doesn't contradict this.
Oklahoma’s appointing an anti-trans TikTok celebrity who encourages hatred, violence & fear isn’t new. There’s a long list of people & atrocities committed by Okies. Their self proclamation of being the “buckle of the Bible Belt” highlights the religious zealots systematically destroying anyone who doesn’t meet their guidelines of a “good, right and moral “Christian”. Oklahoma is just as evil as Texas. Not Ok, OK.
The attached letters make my heart SING!!! If this is the way to stop the bullying going on of our larger Community, I'm going to start making complaints like there's no tomorrow. If the enemy wishes to bring up Title IX, so will we. Brilliance. May Nex's memory be a revolutionary blessing.
I hope you haven't said this already, but I'm questioning who you're talking about in the sentence ending with, "whose posts were followed by threats to a teacher in Nex’s school district who he admired." Is that talking about Nex? If so, Nex was not a 'he' but a 'they'. Right?
If and when tRump get in, whether by election or otherwise, Democracy’s DOA & Christian Nationalism wins. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll take over our country. Congress won’t certify election results, bcuz House Speaker Johnson. He’s the guy who gathered 120 Congressional magats & Russian Repuklicans after Jan 6 to challenge the election & this started the Big Lie. He’s in charge. Congress will vote, state by state, their choice. SCOTUS won’t get involved, bcuz they are corrupt, they’ll put dictator tRump, his magats, his kids to run & ruin our country. Placing his DIL to run the RNC is another step to democracy ending. Mark my words. It’s a shit show and no one gives a damn.
Because apparently nothing says Christianity, freedom of religion, more than the nonbeliever Donald Trump. He doesn’t care about Christianity or Christians, if he can total power, he will say or do anything to get it. He’s already taken the steps to secure his win & rise to Putinhood.
Rougher than you could ever imagine. I guess I'll say this until I'm blue in the face, but here comes Nazi Germany of the 1930's. They've already taken over the country, and if asshat gets in, it's all over for us. Mark my words.
I'm amazed that people are underestimating that guy and his goons. It will be the end of Democracy and the beginning of Fascism. We're seeing the beginnings take form everywhere, but if those people get in total control of the government, it's lights out, people!!!
A step in the right direction, I still don’t see anything about the medical malpractice that happened with not calling medical support after their head was put into the ground repeatedly
That has concerned me as well. Head injuries can often have hidden effects (e.g. brain bleeds) that come to light later. A brain bleed could well have been the cause of Nex's collapse and death. Alas, such was not investigated.
Not even calling 911 for that was monstrous. I guarantee an NFL player would’ve gotten an X-ray, a cat scan, and anything else possible
More than likely! At the very least they should have been evaluated overnight, tho' the best practice would have been a head CT.
They did have an MRI scan on February 7th (the day of the attack) and received an injection of painkillers. This is according to an article in the Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-oklahoma-ossawa-non-binary-b2500209.html) and texts written by Nex (https://bsky.app/profile/vpsreports.bsky.social/post/3klvxwd6kdt2d).
In those texts they described themself as having been "dizzy and nauseous" and said that if they were still feeling that way the next morning then they could have a concussion. My interpretation is that this is Nex relaying what the medical staff said to them, which raises the question of why they weren't kept in for observation overnight.
This treatment was at the Bailey Medical Center (according to its website, the largest hospital in Owasso with 73 beds). The school appears to have recommended that they be taken there, so I suspect that it may be difficult to pin anything on the school legally in respect of not calling for an ambulance, even though I agree it seems that their care was inadequate.
It's unclear whether anything was missed on the MRI or whether the treatment at the Bailey Medical Center that day was appropriate in other respects; we genuinely don't have enough information to tell. As far as I know, up to now there has been no allegation that it was inadequate. An MRI is potentially more sensitive than a CT scan for picking up brain/head injuries, but it's possible that it still didn't raise any red flags. Under circumstances like this there *should* be an internal investigation by the hospital that includes re-examining the MRI scan and the appropriateness of other treatment. I don't know what the requirements for that are under Oklahoma or federal law, or whether it will happen voluntarily (if not then that's something that activists can and should pressure the hospital for).
In any case, the investigation Erin is reporting here is of the Owasso Public Schools District, and specifically for the 2023-24 school year. We know from the testimony of another Owasso High School student, Eden (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8EDQy67/) that they and other students at the school have been harassed, and that another Oklahoma student, Eli Fritchley, committed suicide after intense homophobic bullying. I don't know whether Eli was at Owasso High School; his suicide was in late 2021, but I hope the investigation is extended to cover it if it was in the same district. We know already from Eden that Owasso High School has had a pattern of ignoring violence against trans students.
[Reworded due to uncertainty about whether Eli Fritchley attended Owasso High School.]
It a my understanding that a CT is better than an MRI for detecting brain bleeds.
As far as I've been able to determine (as a lay person but with extensive experience of searching and interpreting medical literature), that isn't correct. There are some specific injuries for which an MRI scan might be more difficult to interpret than a CT scan, but for the vast majority of brain/head injuries, an MRI scan is more sensitive. Here is a directly relevant, fairly recent study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25646200/
CT is more commonly used than MRI for scans after head injury because CT scanners are faster and more widely available; not because there is any disadvantage in doing an MRI relative to CT, given availability of an MRI scanner and the time to do the scan. There's no reason to believe that a CT scan would have shown an injury that the MRI scan didn't in this case, and there's typically no indication to do both if an MRI is done initially. The verywellhealth link you gave doesn't contradict this.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/ct-scan-vs-mri-6979395
I feel confident that this will happen.
Late for Nex—but hella necessary for all the terrified trans and NB kids in OK. (And elsewhere.)
Good! But too late for Nex.
Agreed.
Oklahoma’s appointing an anti-trans TikTok celebrity who encourages hatred, violence & fear isn’t new. There’s a long list of people & atrocities committed by Okies. Their self proclamation of being the “buckle of the Bible Belt” highlights the religious zealots systematically destroying anyone who doesn’t meet their guidelines of a “good, right and moral “Christian”. Oklahoma is just as evil as Texas. Not Ok, OK.
I mean, I'm glad something's finally moving, but... 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯. The Fed never wakes up until there's blood on the ground, does it?
Here's a letter asking for Ryan Walters' immediate removal from office: https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Justice-for-Nex-Benedict-Letter.pdf.
The attached letters make my heart SING!!! If this is the way to stop the bullying going on of our larger Community, I'm going to start making complaints like there's no tomorrow. If the enemy wishes to bring up Title IX, so will we. Brilliance. May Nex's memory be a revolutionary blessing.
About fricking time.
I hope you haven't said this already, but I'm questioning who you're talking about in the sentence ending with, "whose posts were followed by threats to a teacher in Nex’s school district who he admired." Is that talking about Nex? If so, Nex was not a 'he' but a 'they'. Right?
And it looks like Dolt-45 will be back in the White House...
Batten down the hatches my friends. We're in for a rough ride. 😔
Rough ride? ROUGH RIDE??
If and when tRump get in, whether by election or otherwise, Democracy’s DOA & Christian Nationalism wins. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll take over our country. Congress won’t certify election results, bcuz House Speaker Johnson. He’s the guy who gathered 120 Congressional magats & Russian Repuklicans after Jan 6 to challenge the election & this started the Big Lie. He’s in charge. Congress will vote, state by state, their choice. SCOTUS won’t get involved, bcuz they are corrupt, they’ll put dictator tRump, his magats, his kids to run & ruin our country. Placing his DIL to run the RNC is another step to democracy ending. Mark my words. It’s a shit show and no one gives a damn.
Because apparently nothing says Christianity, freedom of religion, more than the nonbeliever Donald Trump. He doesn’t care about Christianity or Christians, if he can total power, he will say or do anything to get it. He’s already taken the steps to secure his win & rise to Putinhood.
Rougher than you could ever imagine. I guess I'll say this until I'm blue in the face, but here comes Nazi Germany of the 1930's. They've already taken over the country, and if asshat gets in, it's all over for us. Mark my words.
I'm amazed that people are underestimating that guy and his goons. It will be the end of Democracy and the beginning of Fascism. We're seeing the beginnings take form everywhere, but if those people get in total control of the government, it's lights out, people!!!
WAKE UP
Nevermind, clicked the link. Wonder where the he/they was sourced from, but good to know.