The family of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, will gather later this week to make a final decision on whether the 22 year old should be taken off life support nearly two months after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub, according to sources close to the family.
The AFP reports that while the Brown and Houston families have been divided on how to handle Bobbi Kristina's condition, the final decision regarding her medical treatment will be taken by her father, Bobby Brown, who, according to reports, is slowly losing hope that his daughter will recover.
As previously reported by the Gospel Herald, Bobbi Kristina's condition has not improved since she suffered "violent seizures" last month after being taken out of a medically-induced coma, forcing doctors at Emory University Hospital to place her back into the coma.
"[She has shown] absolutely no signs of life lately," the family source told the AFP. "It is really on Bobby Brown's shoulders to let her go in peace," the insider continued, adding that Bobbi Kristina's grandmother, Cissy Houston, has come to terms with the idea of removing her life support.
Cissy, who is the mother of the late Whitney Houston, this week traveled to Atlanta from her New Jersey home for the family meeting, according to recent reports.
"It is something that the Houston and Brown families had agreed to do as early as February 11, but Bobby Brown reneged," the source said.
According to Dr. Michael DeGeorgia, a neurologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Brown's doctors are not obligated to continue treating a patient of they don't think they can help them, but often allow family make the final decision.
"Patients' families can decide if they want to push forward with continued medical treatments, even if their loved one is in a devastated situation and have little hope for survival," Dr. DeGeorgia told the AFP. "You would usually abide by the family's wishes, unless you decide that they are brain dead and that they have no brain function."
Bobbi Kristina has remained in a medically induced coma since she was found face down and unresponsive in the bathtub of her Roswell, Georgia home on January 31--the same way her mother, Whitney Houston, was found nearly three years ago. Doctors have since removed her breathing tube, but have kept her on a ventilator and feeding tube. While experts say Bobbi Kristina likely has significant brain damage, as she was deprived of oxygen while in the bathtub for anywhere from two to fifteen minutes, they say the seizures are a strong indication that she is not, in fact, brain dead.
Although the exact cause of her current condition remains unknown, a report which surfaced last month claimed Bobbi Kristina was under the influence of drugs and drinking heavily on the morning she was found unresponsive, and had been a variety of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and Xanax in the months prior to the incident.
However, a criminal probe has also been launched by police after they found suspicious injuries on her body, including "certain bruising" and other marks.
"Foul play is being investigated, including drug use and possibly cover-up to remove evidence from the crime scene," the family source told PEOPLE magazine.
Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend,Nick Gordon, has been named by investigators as a person of interest, as the two shared a tumultuous, and often violent, relationship. According to reports, Brown family has told Gordon he will not be allowed to visit Bobbi Kristina until he reveals exactly what happened the evening before she was found.
In the meantime, dozens of celebrities, including entertainment moguls Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, have voiced their support for Bobbi Kristina and her family as they experience this difficult time.
"There aren't any words right now," Winfrey said, choking up while attempting to discuss the young woman's health crisis. "It's a sad time."
