Under the care of `` optimistic '' doctors , Jahi McMath -- whom a judge and other doctors have declared brain-dead , over her family 's objections -- is `` improving '' days after her release from an Oakland , California , hospital , her family 's lawyer said . However , barring a misdiagnosis , medical experts say the teen 's condition ca n't improve if she is truly `` brain dead , '' because there 's no way to come back to life once brain activity ceases . Attorney Chris Dolan detailed some of what 's happened to the 13-year-old girl since her release Sunday from Children 's Hospital & Research Center Oakland . After initially `` doing poorly she is stabilizing , '' he said , adding that the teen underwent tracheotomy and gastrostomy tube procedures . `` She is doing very well and getting the treatment she should have gotten 28 days ago , '' Dolan said Wednesday , referring to what happened to Jahi after a December operation . `` Doctors are optimistic that her condition has stabilized and that her health is improving from when she was taken from ( the Oakland hospital ) . '' The family has n't said where the eighth-grader currently is . Dolan has declined to say if she had been transferred to another facility and , if so , to describe that facility . Instead , they have chosen to lie low as they continue their efforts to care for Jahi . Dolan said the family needs to `` heal up from this whole experience '' and have `` some quiet time '' away from media questions . `` ( The ) family is seeking to focus attention on Jahi , '' added the lawyer . CNN could not independently verify Dolan 's account about what 's happened to the young California teen . Jahi underwent a December 9 operation at the Northern California hospital to remove her tonsils , adenoids and extra sinus tissue . Opinion : Let parents decide if teen is dead . Doctors had recommended the surgery to treat pediatric obstructive sleep apnea , a condition that made her stop breathing in her sleep and caused other medical problems . The teen girl was alert and talking to doctors after the procedure , even asking for a Popsicle because her throat hurt . That was a relief in some ways because she 'd expressed concerns to her family about the surgery , fearing she would never wake up from it , her uncle has said . Due to privacy laws , hospital officials have not been able to discuss Jahi 's case in detail . In the hospital 's intensive care unit , however , the girl started to bleed , her family has said , and she went into cardiac arrest . Days later , she was declared brain-dead . A judge later sided with the hospital in declaring her dead . The family , however , did not agree . That conflict played into a weeks-long battle between the hospital , which wanted to remove Jahi from a ventilator , and her family , who believed she was showing signs of life . The entire ordeal fueled a sweeping national debate about what legally and ethically constitutes death . Some medical ethicists have said the case has fed into a misperception that `` brain death '' is not death ; that somehow , the body can live on , and that is life . It 's also sparked fierce emotion , and that is another reason the family is keeping quiet about where the girl will be taken . `` We 've had people make threats from around the country , '' Dolan , who said he and the girl 's uncle have received such threats , has told CNN . `` It 's sad that people act that way . '' Why brain dead means really dead .
Jahi had successful procedures after leaving an Oakland hospital , lawyer says . Score: 6 Doctors believe `` her health is improving , '' adds the McMath family 's lawyer . Doctors and a judge declared her brain dead ; her family disagreed .