<p>this thread, like Schiavo should be allowed to die in peace</p>
<p>I don’t believe that this post should be closed, there is nothing wrong with a bunch a people challenging each others views. However I do think we should all stop talking about abortion, myself including. And Jym626, maybe you should check your medcial knowledge because the is a such thing as a double brain stroke. Don’t believe me, google it.</p>
<p>Jordana-
I AM in the field- and that is not a medically accepted term. You should reconsider what you say to people. Your emotions are getting in the way of your judgement.</p>
<p>Maybe people should use their emotions more esp. when concerning judgement. You can rationalize anything. I would much rather have people judge with their hearts. And I double checked the phrase “double brain stroke” with several different sources. All of which refered to what the women had was a double brain stroke, I am sorry that I don’t have the specific scientific name.</p>
<p>this is probably a bad example but hear me out. </p>
<p>Compare this case to wandering in the desert by yourself. The blistering heat of the day, the freezing cold of the night, the snakes, the scorpions, are among the hardships you have to bear. But you have enough water and food to keep you alive. The desert, for all you know, is endless. You are given a choice. You can continue to wander the desert, bearing the hardships, but staying alive. Or you can end the hardship. To end the hardship, your water and food are taken away, and you die an extremely slow and painful death.</p>
<p>that’s how i think of this case. i would keep searching for a way out of the desert because hope is the greatest strength we possess.</p>
<p>The critical difference, though, is that the desert-wanderer in this case is not the one determining whether she continues or not.</p>
<p>thats true. but if a person’s life isn’t in their own hands, and there is no clear indication of what they want, who are we to make a decision for them?</p>
<p>She informed her husband and friends of her desire not to have her life prolonged if she were to be put in a vegetative state and those people have testified as to her intentions under oath. The courts have upheld her decision. Let her die with dignity rather than lying in a bed, her body disintegrating and succombing to atrophy more and more every day. It’s beyond me how people can be so blinded by their convictions that they ignore the facts and insist that they know better than the persons intimately involved with the case.</p>
<p>that changes things. i think that if she is to die, it should be by lethal injection or something quicker than dying of thirst.</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, isn’t a lot of her brain gone, as in filled with fluid instead of “grey matter?”</p>
<p>If that were my sister, she would be whisked away to an unknown location in the middle of the night and I’d administer the feeding tube myself. What’s all the fuss about? She needs to be released to people who care about her - her husband and judges sure don’t.</p>
<p>If that were the case, I would argue that you care nothing about her.</p>
<p>This article, written by a physician on the ethics committee at U Vt College of Medicine <a href=“http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft0408/articles/exchange.html[/url]”>http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft0408/articles/exchange.html</a> explains that dehydration is not at all a “slow and painful death”. The image that people have is not in fact what happens physiologically. You don’t “die of thirst”. As you will see in the article, thirst is a sensation perceived in the mouth, and if the mouth is kept moist, this potential discomfort is alleviated.</p>
<p>These issues are emotionally charged, and people tend to have a knee-jerk reaction. Jessica/Jordana, you are new to CC, and as a student, you are certainly welcome to post on the Adult forum. It is best, however, to post your thoughts without making accusations or attacks. If you would like to post some links as to where you heard/read the term “double brain stroke” we can help address it appropriately. Per your request, I tried a quick google, to see if I’d missed something, and I came up empty. And as for your statement,
I would posit that we shouldn’t “judge” at all. I would suggest you consider turning your burners down a bit. You will find CC a much more welcoming community.</p>
<p><a href=“http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2005/03/debunking_lies_.html[/url]”>http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2005/03/debunking_lies_.html</a></p>
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<p>On the one hand people are describing her as a vegetable, on the other we hear that she can swallow and drink on her own? The essential question here is: Can Terry Schiavo survive without mechanical assistance or not? Does she need a hospital machine to keep her alive for more than 2 weeks or can survive with manual care?</p>
<p>Yes she can eat, but she can’t do it by herself. She doesn’t need the feeding tube, however, someone will have to feed her. It is also important to know that she can’t really chew hard food, she would have to be given everything in liquids.</p>
<p>I surrender, while I have read all I can from what I consider unbiased reports, it is difficult to speak about something that none of us know all the facts about… </p>
<p>getting snippets from the news, seeing manipulated video, having “experts” on both sides getting press, policitians with their own agendas, and the scariest thing is the political fallout that is going to occur</p>
<p>What have I learned, to tell EVERYONE of my wishes and put it in writing…when families are in turmoil, awful things can happen…even with both sides think they have the best intentions</p>
<p>I just wish it would be over, and that we don’t lose our options for oursevles in the aftermath</p>
<p>If there is someone willing to feed her and give her a drink of water how can that be denied to her? If any adult were sick and a parent wanted to care for them, shouldn’t they be allowed this? IMHO it would be best for her husband to personally let go if he feels he no longer wants the responsibility, let him divorce her if he so wishes and give her parents custody. As the parents are fighting so bitterly for their daughter, why shouldn’t the court let her family take care of her? If the case truly has no hope, the family will come to see that in their own time.</p>
<p>If they haven’t figured it out in 15 years, how long do you think it will take?</p>
<p>I agree that something here just doesn’t add up. Michael Schiavo should have divorced her years ago and given responsibility to the parents. Whoever it is that won’t let them see Terri is just outright heartless. I’m getting sick of the heartless things people do nowadays. You don’t starve an innocent person and then not let her parents in to be with her in her last hours.</p>