|
Terri Schiavo Dead
She passed away at 10:21 am Thursday March 31, 2004.
|
OK..
I have long avoided the politics thread because i hate all the strife that it tends to cause between people on message boards, but.. this is ans issue that has struck a chord with me so i have to say something.. I am personally glad that Terri is dead.. I think it was a shitty way to die.. i do not agree with letting her starve like they did.. BUT, now a 10 year struggle is over for this woman who was stuck in the middle of a legal battle that she could'nt even defend herself in.. For the last decade they have fought this issue.. Now at least maybe she can rest knowing that no one can keep yanking tubes in and out of her.. I think it's shitty that Michael Schiavo would'nt let her family in to say goodbye.. i hope he gets his leg chewed off by wild coyotes for that.. Everybody that has made a major statement on tv it seems has either been talking about the rights of her husband or her family in this case.. Did everybody forget that there was a woman lying in the hospital bed who is the centre of this issue? This angers me because they talked about her for the last 10 years like she was'nt even there and now after 13 excruciating days without food or drink... She's dead.. My heart goes out to her family.. *headache* now i know why one of my medical assisting teachers was always pressuring us to get advance directives.. This could happen to any of us.. I pray that it never does, but incase it did i know i'm making a beeline to get an advance directive while i'm still of sound mind and body.. Rest In Peace Terri.. I'm glad your struggle here is over.. :cry: |
Quote:
1.) in massachusetts, one is required to renew his or her living will / advance directive every 72 hours in order for it to be considered valid. hospitals are not required to honor a living will / advance directive to end extraordinary life-sustaining measures unless a doctor has renewed a dnr (do not rescusitate) order as above. 2.) even if it is renewed, it's worth little more than a used piece of toilet paper if it's brought to court. what does that mean? even if someone of sound mind and body makes their wishes clear, the court system is under no obligation to honor their wish if that wish is challenged, for whatever reason. one is not able to rest in the knowledge that one has made his or her wishes clear in this state. fuckin' liberal i-know-what-you-want-and-need-better-than-you-do state. |
people need to open this discussion with their families and their doctors. It's the only way to avoid this type of mess: open the lines of communication and get everyone in the same camp.
We're in the process of doing that at our home. |
I wrote my final paper in my Writing class on the Terry Schiavo case, thought I would share it with those of you that care to read it.
May you find the Love and Peace you were denied in life Terry. The Life and Death of Terry Schiavo Few cases in the in recent history have ignited the firestorm of controversy that the Terry Schiavo case created. Terry’s last days on Earth were filled with legal proceedings and many broken hearts. Today I would like to present that Terry Schiavo was not a ‘ human vegetable ‘. I will do that by first outlining Terry’s case, secondly telling a bit about what about it created such bitter opposition, and finally what happened to Terry Schiavo in the end. Theresa Marie Schindler was born in Pennsylvania on December 3, 1963 to Mary and Robert Schindler. By all accounts she grew to be a friendly and loving young woman. She moved from Pennsylvania in the eighties to Florida. Terry was a devout Catholic who attended Mass regularly with her sister. She met her Michael Schiavo there and they soon married. In 1990 Terry collapsed in her home. It is most widely reported that Terry collapsed from a Potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. [http://reports.tbo.com/reports/schiavo/] The imbalance left her comatose for several weeks. For approximately two years Terry received treatment intended to rehabilitate her with some progress. In 1992 her husband Michael began to refuse treatment for his Terri. Around that same time Michael was awarded over two million dollars from a malpractice lawsuit relating to Terrys collapse. [http://www.terrisfight.org/] Over the next few years Michael began his fight to ‘allow’ Terry to die. He refused medical treatment for her for a potentially fatal infection. He added a ‘ Do not resuscitate ‘ order to her medical chart. He threatened to sue Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri’s parents for interference. Terri’s parents in turn petitioned the court to have Michael removed as Terry's guardian. They subsequently lost that petition. [http://civilliberty.about.com/cs/hum...bgTerry_2.htm] Over the next several years Michael Schiavo and Terry's parents fought it out in court over whether Terry’s feeding tube should be removed. Doctors on Michael’s side ruled that Terry was in a permanent vegetative state. Doctors for the state of Florida and the Schindlers ruled that Terri was not a vegetable and was responsive in many ways. Doctors for the Schindlers and the state of Florida testified that ‘ she was responsive to stimuli, interacted with her environment and her loved ones and was capable of communicating in limited ways ‘ [http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.a...0030917c.html] Terri’s huband Michael insists that she never wanted to be kept alive artificially and would wish to die. Terri’s parents argue that Terri, a devout Catholic would never wish to be starved to death. In early 2001 her feeding tube was ordered removed by a judge. Terri’s parents won a court battle to have it reinserted eight days later. Terri died without leaving any written instructions about her wishes. [http://www.terrisfight.org/court documents] The battle was fought in court until March of this year. The fight to save Terri’s life even resulted in an Act of Congress being passed to save Terri. The State of Florida petitioned for her to be released to them as her Guardian ad Litem. Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida, did everything in his power to save her from starvation. Doctor after doctor testified on Terri’s behalf that she was responsive. Terri smiled, and cried. She recognized her family and expressed her love for them in many noticeable ways [www.terrisfight.org/court documents] Despite all of this her feeding tube was removed. On March 18th 2005 Terri’s feeding tube was removed for the last time. For 14 days Terri was starved and denied hydration. Michael Schiavo insists she was pain free, but many accounts of starvation point to the contrary. Another look at death by starvation was presented by “Justice Lynch of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the case of firefighter Paul Brophy, who lapsed into coma after surgery. “ The following is the account given on the process Brophy’s body took during his final days; “ Brophy's mouth would dry out and become caked or coated with thick material. His lips would become parched and cracked. His tongue would swell, and might crack. His eyes would recede back into their orbits and his cheeks would become hollow. The lining of his nose might crack and cause his nose to bleed. His skin would hang loose on his body and become dry and scaly. His urine would become highly concentrated, leading to burning of the bladder. The lining of his stomach would dry out and he would experience dry heaves and vomiting. His body temperature would become very high. His brain cells would dry out, and the thick secretions that would result is plugging his lungs and caused death.” [http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti.../223430.shtml] Death penalty prisoners are injected with a barbiturate/opiate combination during the administration of a lethal dose. Terri suffered with an unknown amount of pain and discomfort until her death on March 31st at approximately 9.05am. During her last days, reports were made that her eyes were bleeding and her skin was peeling off. It was also said that her tongue was dry and swollen from lack of moisture. The Schindler’s themselves were refused entry by police during her dying moments. They had to standby helpless as their first born child died without them present. In a final hateful effort, Michael Schiavo is having Terri’s remains cremated and buried at an undisclosed location that he will not release to her family. Where is the ‘peace’ and ‘ dignity ‘ in these actions? How could Terri, a devout Catholic have wished to be tortured to death, in such an unnatural way? The Pope himself spoke out on Terri’s behalf in his final days. Many, many people fought for Terri, though she could not fight for herself. I firmly believe that if Terri Schiavo had strong wishes about the type of care she wished to receive in the event of an accident, she would have outlined them clearly. All of the evidence offered points to Terri’s wishes to the contrary. One only has to look at the videos of her smiling at her mother lovingly to know she was not a vegetable. She was a frail and vulnerable human being who needed our help. I feel that we, the American people, let her down. Hopefully new legislation will come out of this senseless death, and protect other people like Terri, from suffering the same heinous fate. Let us all hope that will be Terri’s legacy. |
Whatever happened to just dying??? while it was cruel for Terry to have her feeding tube removed she would have died the same way had nature taken its course. Death is rarely humane.
And I believe all those people trying to keep her alive were really just proclaiming thier own of fear of death. If they truely belived in a higher power they would have let her go a long time ago. It was nice to hear that she finally got to die. I hope she is at peace now. |
"Whatever happenned to just dying?"-well, this little thing called medical technology, and I'm not just talking about huge machines making your heart beat properly or your kidneys filter properly, but stuff like penicillin, anti-biotics, cold medicines, etc.....see, the farther along in time our species go, the more things we figure out to prolong our lives.
And as far as Terry dying the same way whether the tube hadn't been removed.....maybe. See, there's that 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance that she would've gained consciousness. Slim as those chances are, it's still a chance, and after having "the question" asked more times than I've ever cared to (OK, really, once is more than anybody should ever care to), I can say that you have that running in the back of your head (along with the "prolonging suffering" reality). By the way you phrased your statement, it sounds like you're against all forms of life-prolonging procedures, including such things medicine, bandages/splints, etc, since all life is is death on the installment plan. My suggestion-please phrase things clearly. |
My blessings go to her family and husband, depsite my opinion on this. To me, this topic is too faceted to argue or show my own personal points on.
*Soul* |
We talked about this in my Death and Dying class for about a week. I think it should have been removed according to her own wishes, even though they were not in writing or any kind of contractual agreement such as a living will or advanced care form and as was said before my blessings to family, friends, and husband.
|
Quote:
Dying of dehydration is not a "natural" way to die. If it were, then every creature, without exception, from the moment of birth to the moment of death, would live an unnatural life. EPS -- thanks for posting that. In pace requiescas Teria. |
Well if she was unable to feed herself and if she were a wild animal what would happen? She would die. That was a natraul death from where she stood at that point in time. I'll be awaiting the flames up my ass for making that comparrison but like or not humans are a part of nature and to debate otherwise I think is to deny one's connection to the rest of the planet.
I am not totally against modern medicine. However I believe it goes too far sometimes. When the quality of life is reduced to the point of near vegitation---its time to go already. Thats what I mean by whatever happened to just dying. |
Personally, I am a little disappointed.... I had hoped to pick up her feeding tube on Ebay.
|
heh...
heh heh... hahahahahahahahahaha... oh, that's bad. heh heh... hahahahahaha... http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/...eding-tube.jpg |
Well...... she's not using it anymore. :wink:
|
Quote:
That was so wrong. *is going to hell for laughing at this* |
I wonder how long it will be before we see on Ebay ham sandwiches that contain, instead of the Virgin Mary, an image of Schiavo's feeding tube.
"It's a miracle!" "No, it's a tapeworm." (Yes, I know that tapeworms aren't found in ham sandwiches.) |
Quote:
|
:twisted: Might as well go "down" laughing.
|
LARGO, Fla. - An autopsy on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding that she had massive and irreversible brain damage and was blind, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused. But what caused her collapse 15 years remained a mystery. The autopsy and post-mortem investigation found no proof that she had an eating disorder, as was suspected at the time, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin said.
so it has been written, so it has been done... http://news.**********/s/ap/20050615/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl |
Quote:
Another thing, all of this hoopla over the feeding tube of a woman who ended up in a vegetative state due to an eating disorder, the irony of that is endlessly amusing. :lol: |
Quit making jokes about her, asshole.
|
Quote:
|
Bullshit. You started on this site making tasteless jokes about her, making no effort to seperate the fact you are doing media schtick or being a flat-out asshole, and got some attention. The fact you are back at it is you mearly looking for acceptance and attention from here by using the old stand-by.
You'll get that attention you crave now, from me, but I doubt you'll like it. |
Quote:
Quote:
|
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:26 AM. |