family's attorney, Jahi's uncle Omari Sealy, 27, said that while his niece remains unconscious, she looks healthy and moves her head, legs and arms regularly. Showing such signs of life, he said, the family is not going to give up on her.

She even turns in the direction of visitors when they enter her hospital room, an indication that she understands her surroundings, Sealy said.

"She moves so much, she can turn on her side," he said. "They have to keep her bed rails up. They're afraid she could fall out of bed."

Medical experts insist that brain-dead people are not alive. They say movement by people on mechanical support is not uncommon; it's the product of muscle and spinal reflexes.

Experts also say patients can remain on support machines for weeksor even months, but their condition is bound to deteriorate.

Sealy, however, said none of what the family has been told by doctors has come true. Jahi's complexion color is good, her heart and lungs remain strong and she has shown increasing signs of awareness, he said.

'Knows where she is'

"She definitely knows where she is and that we're present," he said. "One of the misconceptions out there is that she's deteriorating or is going to deteriorate over time. But her skin looks better than mine."

He wore a button on his shirt with a picture of his smiling niece.

Jahi was released from Children's Hospital Oakland to the family on Jan. 5 after the family won a court order to keep her on a ventilator before taking possession of her body