Schiavo's in Florida?

[Mike]

What do you all think about the Schiavo deal concerning pulling the girl's feeding tube- from what you know about it?

 

[ranchwife]

reader...i second your thoughts on the living will situation....as i have stated before, i had one written up shortly after my husband i married and left NO DOUBT about my wishes...my living will is very detailed to cover every situation i could think of from ventilators, feeding tubes, nursing home placement, custody of children, etc....this is WAY too important to be left to a bunch of strangers (congress, lawyers)!!! i hope this tragic turn of events for teri and her family shows america (and our friends in canada ) how important it is to set your wishes straight....living wills should not be delayed just because one is "young"!! you just never know....

 

[Turkey Track Bar]

Reader the Second, and Ranchwife, I too second your thoughts.

My husband and I were discussing this situation last night. I told him, I just don't know which is more "cruel" making Terri sit there and suffer living a life I would guess she wouldn't want to be living, or to suffer while being taken off food and water.....

That being said, I told my husband that if I were in that position, I think I'd like assisted suicide or to be "Kavorkianed" (?spelling) even though it's illegal. That would definitely decease the level of suffering.

When I was 15 my Grandma had a stroke and also had a living will. She did ok for awhile but went downhill in the nursing home. I personally think she didn't want to live anymore because she couldn't talk to anyone. I was really upset that the family decided to take Grandma off the life support systems, and my dad being the good father he is, said something like you wouldn't let a cow lay there and suffer why would you want Grandma to lay there and suffer-made a lot of sense to a 15 year old that not lot of stuff made sense to.

Ranchwife thank you for being responsible enough for yourself and to your family and friends to have a living will drawn up. My husband and I need to get our rear's in gear and do the same.

 

[ranchwife]

reader...my mom was 49 when she slipped into a coma from an addisonian crisis....hell, we did not even know she had addisons!! anyway, the doc told us (my dad and i) that she needed intense rounds of dialysis and she would "come out of it"....when i asked the doctor what her life would be like when he "came out of it", he admitted that due to the toxins in her system, she would be "vegatative and require 24 hour nursing care", she would not be able to eat, speak or care for herself in the least! many times, my mom and i had discussed our feelings on "last wishes" and i knew that she would not wanna live the way the doc was describing. the hardest decision i have had to make, so far in my life, was to have the doctors and nurses disconnect the machines and i.v. fluids that were sustaining her life!! i was glad that i had had those conversations with mom. too often, folks refuse to discuss end of life issues and then the families are left in turmoil!! you and your husband were smart in talking things our beforehand!! my heart goes to you, though, in having to carry out those wishes!

 

[ranchwife]

TTB summed it up - assisted suicide is more humane, but we only provide that to our animals, not our loved ones. I had to ask my husband's forgiveness (he had stopped comprehending many months before but still...) the last 2 weeks of his life that I did not have the legal means to end his life mercifully then.

amen...we all too often show more mercy towards out family pets than we do our own loved ones!!

 

[Hanta Yo]

Reader (the second), Ranchwife, TTB,

I straddle the fence on this one. Reader (the second) my heart goes out to you, and you, too ranchwife. Mike Chiavo is a bigamist, he should divorce his wife and let her parents take care of her the way they want to. I've been listening to several radio talk shows and they have brought up all possible angles to this unfortunate situation. What I've deduced from this is Mike Chiavo didn't spend the money he could have on Terry's physical therapy, etc. I don't know how she COULD have been if he had spent the money on her. I don't understand why he is so adamant about killing her this way. Dehydration is a horrible way to die. We treat our pets better than he is treating his wife.

 

[Hanta Yo]

Reader (the second), Ranchwife, TTB,

I straddle the fence on this one. Reader (the second) my heart goes out to you, and you, too ranchwife. Mike Chiavo is a bigamist, he should divorce his wife and let her parents take care of her the way they want to. I've been listening to several radio talk shows and they have brought up all possible angles to this unfortunate situation. What I've deduced from this is Mike Chiavo didn't spend the money he could have on Terry's physical therapy, etc. I don't know how she COULD have been if he had spent the money on her. I don't understand why he is so adamant about killing her this way. Dehydration is a horrible way to die. We treat our pets better than he is treating his wife.

This is a difficult situation because her parents say they will take over care for her. I agree. I would take whatever is said about Michael Schiavo on talk shows with a grain of salt. We don't have real insight into what he felt or did and he is clearly being villainized by certain groups. He could be an innocent, suffering husband or there could be truth, but we don't actually know which it is and furthermore, this is between the courts and the family, not the media and the American public. I can't imagine, having gone through end-of-life decisions that are so tragic and terrible what it must be like to have the tragedy compounded by people calling him names and the media all over the entire misfortunate family. Talking about her bulimia and so on. Disgusting.

I agree with you. Disgusting.

 

[Cal]

When her family so desperately wants her alive, I would consider the great effort that it has taken to kill her vindictive and evil. Even if she is totally vegetative, which has been debated to death, what harm is being done to keep her alive for her family's peace of mind? If she is actually suffering from starvation and dehydration, than she has suffered a worse death than the most heinous murderer that has recieved a painless lethal injection.

 

[Hanta Yo]

When her family so desperately wants her alive, I would consider the great effort that it has taken to kill her vindictive and evil. Even if she is totally vegetative, which has been debated to death, what harm is being done to keep her alive for her family's peace of mind? If she is actually suffering from starvation and dehydration, than she has suffered a worse death than the most heinous murderer that has recieved a painless lethal injection.

Hope you read my first post, I agree. I think mike should divorce his wife, (since he is a bigamist) and let her parents take care of her. Why is he so adamant about killing her? Hearing some of the gory details is what disgusts me.

 

[katrina]

To me it's all baloney. The bottom line is when you meet St. Peter, what do you want to tell him? I killed my wife because that's what I thought she wanted. Or, Evan though I think my wife wanted to die, I was passionate for the wishes of her parents and let her live..

 

[rancher]

If she is actually suffering from starvation and dehydration, than she has suffered a worse death than the most heinous murderer that has recieved a painless lethal injection.

The doctors said she would not suffer, her part of the brain that feels pain as thirst, starving are all dead. She would not feel any different with out the tubes than with the tubes. I would hope my wife would stand up for me knowing my wishes no matter what my family wants. I feel for the family, but they have to think of her and not them.

 

[Steve]

How many of you has watched someone dying whose body is tortured by cancer;

While I agree with most of what is said and can truthfully answer this question, Life that continues after the morphine drip can no longer dull the pain is not worth living, My wife sat with her mother and in the most caring way said goodbye. and a few hours later she was placed in a drug induced coma and allowed to go in peace. only to within two months fight her own battle with Cancer, We have made our decisions, and through a project at Church hired a lawyer to assist others file the appropiate paperwork. I would encourage all to prayerfully consider the same.

With that said, I feel that death by stravation, is not the answer, Niether is her husband refusing her getting last communion. at least let her have the medical and faith based comfort all humans deserve.

Saying she only was following court and doctor's orders, an attorney for Michael Schiavo yesterday would not allow a revered Roman Catholic priest to administer Holy Communion to brain-disabled Terri Schindler-Schiavo, ''because of court order and doctor's orders, you can't put anything in her mouth,'' not even a morsel of moistened communion wafer.
http://catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=1&art_id=27828

 

[Cal]

How can Michael Schiavo even be considered her husband, as he has a common law wife and children? For absolutely every opinion regarding this case there is a dissenting second opinion, even regarding her ability to feel hunger and pain, and her attempts at communicating. As we enter the 7th day of her starvation and dehydration, all are probably moot points.

 

[rancher]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/kgtv/20050329/lo_wkmg/2648050