A question about the Terri Sheivo story

You know what, I have to apologize. I am getting way too upset because I do see it as people generalizing. Just everyone: understand that everyone comes from different walks of life. Everyone can see the same thing and interpret it in different ways based on their own personal experiences.

I would give all I had in the world for things like this not to happen to people.

If I have offended anyone, I am sorry.

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Posted by wc0143

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Posted by newbie

That is the problem I personally have with this case. I believe in a person's right to die based on his/her quality of life. I just question Teri Schiavo's husband's motives, here. I do hope the courts have not made their decisions on the basis of his testimony of her wishes, alone.

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Isn't that what is most important? What HER wishes were?

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I agree. And we don't know what her wishes were. Michael Schiavo is saying one thing and the Schindler's are saying another. She didn't leave anything in writing (but I'm near 26 and I never thought till now to do such a thing). Anyway at this point if I were the court I would have not allowed the tube removed because we don't know what her wishes were.

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Posted by FutureMrsH

And you are wrong there. It will be my job to work with people with TBI, stroke, etc. If I believed that there was no hope for anyone in these situations, I would be out of a job...as well as everyone else in the rehabilitation field.
And my mother, God bless her, suffered and survived 2 strokes...her CT Scan looks worse then Terri's in some areas. I have lived with it...and I have seen first hand how hand it is to fight and come back...but she has! I have seen how devestating brain injuries are. I see it every day in clinic. Her first stroke happened when she was very young. I am talking under the age of 10. Don't accuse people of not understanding first hand of what people go through...with stroke being one of the most common illnesses in adults and TBI the most common cause of brain injury for individuals under the age of 35, it is hard to not know someone who has had their life affected somehow.
Everyone has the right to choose. To say that if someone chooses to sustain their life under artificial means is wrong, then you are trying to make a choice for them...and that is not right. This is not a choice to be made by the husband, the parents, siblings, the cat, or anyone else...this is a personal decision...and it is neither right nor wrong.

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exuse me...you can't generalize what i said...i DID NOT mean ALL TBI patients...there are plenty who recover...And i work with them EVERYDAY!

She is BRAIN DEAD....plain and simple...and if that means you were out of a job because she is at peace...SO BE IT

AND it was just my personal opinion that someone should not want to be sustained via tubes if they are BRAIN DEAD...MY OPINION...

And you moms situation was different!

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Posted by RedHead

excuse me...you can't generalize what i said...i DID NOT mean ALL TBI patients...there are plenty who recover...And i work with them EVERYDAY!

She is BRAIN DEAD....plain and simple...and if that means you were out of a job because she is at peace...SO BE IT

AND it was just my personal opinion that someone should not want to be sustained via tubes if they are BRAIN DEAD...MY OPINION...

And you moms situation was different!

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Well let everyone have their opinions ! So stop telling them they're wrong!!! There is no right or wrong here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion ! You have yours and so does everyone else.

when someone compares mentally retarded people to those who are brain dead...THEY ARE WRONG

when someone says that she is going to get better ...they are wrong


when someone says that she is suffering in pain...they are wrong...

and i will say it because it is the truth

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Posted by LIBrideinBWI

First of all, this is NOTHING like Nazi Germany.... Hitler didn't gas retarded kids, he tried to wipe out a whole race of people. Thank you, for having read your statement comparing the two, I have now lost IQ points....

As for whether Michael Schiavo 'honored' his wedding vows - I truly feel that NO one other than God has the power to pass judgement here. NO ONE here knows WHAT they would do in this situation.

I'd like to add - I have never seen any proof that he supposedly abused his wife, AND it was just reported on the news that the 700,000 dollars for her treatment is just about gone so there goes that angle (insurance $$$).

Everybody is so insulted that he 'moved' on' get over it! Truth of the matter is - he lost his wife years ago and I can't imagine the agony of watching her languish in this state.

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Actually, Hitler wanted to make a perfect Aryan Race- and that included wiping out any race or person that didn't uphold his 'standard'.. Whether it be Jew, Gypsy, Homosexual, politcal dissentor and almost all people and children that were institutionalized in the Countries that he invaded... (which is where my comment tied in- I know for a FACT that happened)..

My point of the comment (which maybe didn't come across correctly) was to basically point out how dangerous it is to institute standards that can oftentimes be subjective (as seen in this thread and others)... by putting a definition on what is 'a life of quality' it can take us down a very dangerous road.. Once we cross that line- who is to say other lines aren't crossed...

Basically, it was in repsonse to a sweeping judgment made by a poster that all those on life support (i'm paraphrasing- not quoting exactly, lest I be lynched) should have the plug pulled... I thought that sweeping judgment was a really bad thing- to me wiping off a whole bunch of people from the face of the Earth because they don't uphold our standard of 'life'... that was where the connection was made in my mind..

It wasn't made to offend anyone- but that is what the comment reminded me of...

It certainly wasn't made to decrease your IQ... but I happened to be a history major and did honors work in WW2 Nazi Germany so I'm not THAT much of an idiot.. maybe it didn't come across the right way.

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Posted by Sassyz75

Basically, it was in repsonse to a sweeping judgment made by a poster that all those on life support (i'm paraphrasing- not quoting exactly, lest I be lynched) should have the plug pulled... I thought that sweeping judgment was a really bad thing- to me wiping off a whole bunch of people from the face of the Earth because they don't uphold our standard of 'life'... that was where the connection was made in my mind..

It certainly wasn't made to decrease your IQ... but I happened to be a history major and did honors work in WW2 Nazi Germany so I'm not THAT much of an idiot.. maybe it didn't come across the right way.

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Sassyz....it was in response to MY STATEMENT and i guess you HAVE TO QUOTE IT since you completely DISTORTED what i said...

I SAID all people who are on life support AND BRAIN DEAD......NOT all people on life support.

AND you cannot in no way shape of form COMPARE people on life support, MR, babies (as someone else tried to) with BRAIN DEAD PEOPLE!!!!! AND you comparing NAZI history to anything htat is going on with Terri Schiavo IS IDIOTIC. If this was someone who had profound mr, is on a breathing tube, moderately TBI, parapeligic and i was saying kill them...hell then you have a leg to stand on...in THIS case ANY AND ALL comparisons and void! Cannot possibly be generalized. SO i am glad that you have a lot of knowledge in Nazi history but to use in comparison to Terri Schiavo is just plain wrong.

There is NO quailty of life there...that is the TRUTH and for you to say otherwise is just being silly now. People want to sit there and make judgements about things that the majority of you HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT. You dont' understand tht full weight of your decisions to agree with keeping her on life support.

SO before people judge sooo quickly as to what should happen to her...THEY should really have a better awareness of exactly what it takes to take care of her, her condition and the sad life that will await her when her parents are no longer here to help.

in my opinion this woman has already been dead for 15 years. It's a horrible story, and I completely understand that it's so difficult for her parents to willingly let their daughter die. In all honesty though, I think it would be more painful to sit and watch someone in a vegetative state for the rest of their life, then to just allow them to die peacefully.

I agree that many come out of this state, but isn't it as time goes on, the less and less chance that person has? It's been 15 years, I feel it's time that they let go, for everyone's sake.

As for my wishes, I wouldn't want to be in that state for longer than a year or two. I don't want my family to have false hope that I might wake up, or suffer watching me day in and day out. I know that my mother wants the same thing. AND she's catholic (I know that was brought up in another thread).

As for the husband, I know in my opinion, I would want him to move on with his life and be happy. I wouldn't want Kevin to sit around and wait for me for 15 years. A few years, yeah, but after a few I would hope he would open his heart and find new love. Does that mean totally forgetting me? Of course not, but I think if you truely love someone you want them to be happy.