Girl once on life support can write, eat, kin says

The grandmother of Haleigh Poutre testified yesterday in the State House that the 12-year-old girl, who had once been on life support, can write part of her name, eat scrambled eggs, and flex a muscle when told she is strong.

"The child's mind is there," said Sandra Sudyka, her maternal grandmother from Westfield, before the newly formed House Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. The panel met for its final of three public hearings.

Sudyka made a tearful plea to legislators to help her secure more visits with Haleigh, who remains at a pediatric rehabilitation hospital in Brighton. Sudyka and Haleigh's biological mother, Allison Avrett, were denied continued visits by the Department of Social Services last summer. According to Sudyka, a DSS representative told her that the visits would be suspended indefinitely because "Haleigh has needs."

Authorities at DSS, which has custody of the girl, have declined to comment on the reason the visits were halted.

The hearings were scheduled in response to a legislative report last year that raised questions about the state's child-protection system.

In the fall of 2005, after an alleged beating by her adoptive mother and stepfather, Haleigh lapsed into a coma and was on life support in a Springfield hospital. DSS began a battle to win the right to remove her life support systems. Just when the agency got high court approval to end her life in January 2006, Haleigh breathed on her own and showed some responsiveness.

Haleigh's condition since that time has further stabilized, though DSS officials release scant details, saying they are barred by confidentiality rules and court orders. The few public comments on her condition have come from Sudyka.

At the hearings, Sudyka said she is most upset at the thought that Haleigh wonders why she and Avrett abruptly stopped visiting her. The girl can only assume that "we don't care," Sudyka said.

Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.