I've been following this story for a while now, and personally, I don't see why there is such a big controversy over it. Things like this happen every day in our hospitals. I mean, the woman has been in a vegatative state for 15 years, being kept alive by a feeding tube. The doctors have even said years ago that there was no chance for recovery. Why are people holding onto a false hope? It's like us still believing that Creed is going to get back together soon. Her brain damage is so severe that even if something did happen, she would have no sence of where she was, or even who she was. She sure as hell wouldn't even be able to talk or move.
A bunch of protesters are not letting the family do what they need to do. They're all a punch of fools who seem to have nothing better to do than stand on a sidewalk and protest something they know nothing about. Terri has been off of her feeding tube for 12 days now, and will die in the next few days if they're not reinserted.
It seems to me, that her husband Michael Schiavo, is the only one with his head on his shoulders. He is doing what is in her best interest instead of his own. It reminds me of what my grandmother said when she was in the hospital dying. She said to "Just stick a needle in me like you would a sick dog." Do what is in the best interest of the patient. Don't force her to keep living. Michael has also requested an autopsy to be done (as agreed upon by both sides) after she dies to prove that she would never recover, and then have her body cremated. Which, IMO, would be best so other people couldn't f*** with her body and try to figure stuff out about what maybe could have been done or whatever. If she were burried, as her parents want, I think it could create all these possibilities for future problems.
Her heart stopped beating for a period in 1990 because of a chemical imbalance that caused this brain damage. If she were magically brought back to life, the imbalance would still be there, and this could happen again. Her brain is so fried that because of the extent of the damage, the only thing that would show she was alive would be her heart beat.
My college president's wife was taken off life support and had her feeding tubes removed after suffering a series of strokes two weeks ago, and not a damn person protested that.
My message to her family: There is no point to keeping someone artificially alive. So do the right thing, and pull the plug, and let her rest. Don't let your own wants take presidence over anothers' feelings and desires. Nobody wants to lose their child, but some people have to. Stop thinking of nobody but yourself.
Well, there's my rant. What do you all think?
H-D 