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Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Off-Topic Conversations: Terri Schiavo
Terri Schiavo
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Posted By:  Iznardi Mar 29, 2005 - 12:19 pm |       | I don't know what the coverage is like elsewhere, but protesters are turning this whole thing into a circus in Florida. One guy was arrested trying to rob a gun shop so that he could go in armed and rescue Terri Schiavo. I have to wonder if some of these people show as much concern for their own family members as they do for a stranger in the news.
I think the whole thing is a tragedy, and it certainly provides no reason for optimism about having the courts and the government decide right to life issues. This ranks up there with other landmark Florida legal and government decisions, like leaving a child with adoptive parents for nearly two years and THEN deciding that maybe he should actually be with his birth parents or having the Department of Families and Children misplace the kids under their care. It's unbelievable what goes on in this state--I only hope the other 49 are better.
| Posted By: Sindatur Mar 29, 2005 - 12:48 pm | | The saddest part of the case is that numerous Drs have said the part of her brain that is required to recover and function is gone, so there is absolutely no possibility whatsoever of her ever recovering. She could never be anymore than she is/was, because any human functionality over and above her current state is controlled by a part of brain that no longer exists.
This is something that the well meaning folks who are abdicating leaving her in this condition are not properly understanding (or accepting) or having related to them.
This whole debate and furor should not have been about allowing her to die, or to live, as regardless of anything else it's impossible for her ever to live again. The debate should have been about how to let her die (IE: Euthanasia vs. starvation)
| Posted By: MerleZ Mar 29, 2005 - 01:14 pm | | Her parents and family see a living human body. It breaths on its own. Its heart beats without any prompting from a machine or medicine. All it needs to continue its "life" is ordinary sustinence. The body opens its eyes and gives the impression of looking around, and responding to stimuli. To the casual observer, she appears to be very much "alive."
In those circumstances, I think I can somewhat understand where the parents are coming from. I think the position of a husband is somewhat different than a parent in this situation. Michael Schiavo has given testimony that courts believed was true, that Terri Schiavo would not want to be maintained in a vegetative condition. I believe you have to honor the process. I don't think that a trial judge would make this type of decision lightly.
If you read the GAL report I linked to above, you'll see that contrary to the reports that Michael Schiavo is some sort of monster, he in fact for three years after Terri was stricken took her around the country trying to get treatment for her, I'm sure at very great expense. Many novel treatments were tried, and Terri received all kinds of therapy.
What Sindatur said is absolutely correct. The cerebral cortex is basically gone. It has been replaced with spinal fluid. Terri Schiavo's head is filled literally with fluid, not brain matter. Her brain stem, which controls autonomic functions is apparently just fine. But the capacity to think has completely left the shell that is the breathing body of Terri Schiavo.
Michael apparently came to understand this, but the parents and siblings continue to hope for some sort of a miracle. Who wouldn't? But at some point you have to end the suffering.
Interestingly, when the parents testified at prior court hearings, they did not dispute the diagnosis of a persistent vegitative state. They also testified that if Terri developed diabetes, and her limbs had to be amputated, they would want those procedures performe. Basically, as a series of dramatically greusome hypothetical situations were presented, they consistently advocated taking extreme measures to keep Terri's body breathing.
Wow.
I'm sure I'm not the only person here to watch a loved one in a situation from which she could not improve, and medicine and doctors only prolonged the inevitable. While I was praying for a peaceful release, my aunt looked at my poor mother and begged her to get better, while Mom could still hear and understand her. It was a truly heartbreaking moment, as my mom shook her head from side to side. She was intubated at that point, and couldn't tell us what she truly wanted then. Previously, she'd told us and the docs to take all necessary measures, even though she was in the final stages of heart failure, and couldn't possibly recover. At the point when she was shaking her head to my aunt, I couldn't know whether she was saying let me die, or simply acknowledging that she wouldn't get better and she knew it. But given her prior statements, I couldn't ask the docs to let her go.
I'm telling you, I hope no one ever has to experience something like that. So I am simpathetic to everyone in the Terri Schiavo case. But I think the parents need to accept that maybe a 27 year old Terri might have told Michael and two other witnesses that she wouldn't want this.
I understand the parents position. I can only imagine the pain of losing a child. You are not suppose to die before your children. To watch th elife that you brought into this world die must be the most difficult thing to do. They have hope that Terri will awaken and return to a semblance of a normal life. There are doctors that have told them this and they cling to that hope.
I have friends who have told me that they would not want to die if they were in a similar position because there is no way of knowing if she really is unable to recover.
Merle, I am in agreement with your sentiments, I hope that I never have to encounter this situation. I have a feeling that at some point in time I will be involved in making a decision to continue life support or not, simply because the number of cases are on the rise. I do not look forward to that day. I only hope that I can do what the individual asked me to do.
| Posted By: MerleZ Mar 31, 2005 - 07:28 am | | Well, it is over. Rest in peace, Terri.
| Posted By: fanuilh Mar 31, 2005 - 08:06 am | | And Godspeed.
I may have just found out who Terri Schiavo is or was or whatever, but may I bow my head in silence.
*bows her head in silence*
| Posted By: Magus Apr 04, 2005 - 06:07 pm | | 
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