Keeping a Body Functioning is not Keeping a Person Alive
This is a complilation of posts I have posted at different websites concerning the Teri Schiavo situation and the MISinformation being spread in the Media.
Newsflash people: withdrawing nutrients is not *starving someone to death*. if you want the unbiased information about this case go to http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html you can read the actual court documents, etc. A very different story emerges then the one being spread by her family members. Teri is gone...her brain is atrophying and being replaced w/neuro-spinal fluid. Brain tissue can not be regenerated, ever. All the therapy and medical treatment in the world is not going to make any difference in her condition. She is in PVS..permanent vegatative state...permanent. http://www.sclhsc.org/mission_vision_values/ethics/pvs.asp also http://www.bethel.edu/~rakrob/files/PVS.html The persistent vegetative state may be defined loosely as a condition in which there is no awareness of the self or the surroundings though the patient appears at times to be awake. The condition results primarily from severe cerebral injury and is usually associated with but not limited to functionally complete destruction of the cerebral neocortex. The electroencephalogram (EEG) reading is either very depressed or flat. Under the microscope most patients' brains show extensive cortical destruction, but a small number may have more localized damage. Individuals in PVS are seldom on any life-sustaining equipment other than a feeding tube.{13} The brainstem—the center of vegetative functions (such as heart rate and rhythm, respiration, gastrointestinal activity)—is relatively intact. PVS individuals thus breathe spontaneously, their hearts beat regularly, and they show sleep-wake sequences. They may have a grasp reflex, may exhibit yawning or chewing movements, and may swallow spontaneously. When food and water are supplied the digestive system utilizes the nutrients, the intestines produce waste products, and the kidneys yield urine. Most patients are silent, but some groan at times. The heart, lungs and blood vessels continue to move air and blood. "Personality, memory, purposive action, social interaction, sentience, thought, and even emotional states are gone. Only vegetative functions and reflexes persist.{14} The American Academy of Neurology has concluded that PVS patients do not experience pain or suffering. Ronald Cranford, a leading authority on PVS, states that "from a neurologic standpoint, they simply do not experience pain, suffering, or cognition."{15} (Cranford is one of the doctors involved w/Schiavo case) Are PVS individuals permanently unconscious? If their condition is sometimes reversible, the decision to discontinue fluid and nutrition is a much more difficult one to make. If their condition is genuinely irreversible, the moral obligation for continuing artificial feeding is harder to establish. Do we know for sure that PVS patients cannot recover? To answer this question Schernmer presents the recent findings of Fred Plum, a professor in the department of neurology at the New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, and his associates. Plum has been at the leading edge in this area of neurological research. He and Bryan Jennett were the first to describe the medical condition of PVS after brain damage.{41} Plum’s latest findings{42} are highly significant. Using positron emission tomographic (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolic rate, [researchers] discovered there is no metabolic overlap between vegetative patients and either normal or locked-in persons. They also found that even patients with marked cerebral atrophy could not be confused on the CT [computerized tomography] scan with those in the vegetative state (complete cortical death).{43} What this means, according to Schernmer, is that for the first time since we began connecting people to machines that replace their vital organs we can now determine whether we are keeping a person alive or keeping a body functioning. He calls this a "welcome breakthrough" that "may provide us with our first truly ethical release from one aspect of the life-support dilemma."{44}
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what the scans have shown w/TS is that we are simply keeping her BODY functioning..she is not being kept *alive*. Please take some time to read the actual medical and court documents instead of taking for truth the partial truths and misrepresentations of her parents, etc. I am speaking from experience here...w/both my FIL (following a car accident that ruptured his aorta) and my mother (she slipped into a coma following surgery for sepsis following bowel surgery and after her ovarian cancer had spread to her liver)..sometimes the greatest gift you can give a loved one is to allow them to die. Terri died many years ago...it is time to allow her body to rest as well.
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more on the withdrawal of nutrients from a pvs patient Removing nutrients is not *painful starvation* for someone in PVS. They are not hungry..it is more cruel to continue forcing nutrients on them. Do you have any concept of how painful a gtube and catheter are that have been in place for years? That is cruel. Please read the links that have been given. You are operating under false assumptions. (in regards to what her husband has and has not allowed and what her actual medical condition is) In looking at comfort measures for the terminally ill, Billings went a stage further in noting: "... fluid depletion in dying patients should be regarded as a disorder with relatively benign symptoms. Successful treatment of the discomfort of thirst and a dry mouth generally does not require rehydration." By 1988, Printz had publicised the little-known situation where: ... A hospice nurse in 1983 noted a correlation between comfort and lack of medical hydration. It appeared to her that terminally ill patients in end-stage dehydration experienced less discomfort than patients receiving medical hydration. The dehydration, resulting from lack of nasogastric or IV fluid, seemed to produce a natural anaesthetic effect, often allowing for a reduction in pain medications. http://www.globalideasbank.org/creend/CRE-13.HTML A study by Andrews and Levine published in 1989 showed widespread support among hospice workers for dehydration in some terminal patients: '53% of nurses agreed that dehydration can be beneficial for the dying' Of the hospice nurses surveyed, 71 per cent agreed that dehydration reduces the incidence of vomiting, 73 per cent agreed that dehydrated patients rarely complain of thirst, 51 per cent reported that there is relief from choking and drowning sensations when fluids are discontinued, and 53 per cent agreed that dehydration can be beneficial for the dying patient. Also, 85 per cent of nurses surveyed disagreed with the need for hydration by IV and/or tube feeding when dehydrated patients have a dry mouth. Finally, 82 per cent of the nurses disagreed with the statement that dehydration is painful. They concluded that, in contrast to the assumption of most health professionals, dehydration was not painful, and that it was therefore a viable alternative to facilitate a comfortable death. "Isn't starving people to death cruel?" Persons in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state are in deep coma. They have no sense of time and they do not feel pleasure or pain. They do not sense the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration. 'In a natural death, the terminally ill person refuses food and all but sips of water' For all of history, until very recently, people have been dying without artificial nutrition and hydration. In a natural death, the terminally ill person does not want and even refuses food and all but sips of water. It is natural for the dying to refrain from ingesting food and water. It is unnatural to "force-feed" the dying. In 1986, Belding Scribner, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, inventor of long term artificial kidney treatment and consultant on nutrition and hydration, testified before the Washington State Senate about whether it is humane to withdraw hydration. He stated the following: Withholding of hydration has to be considered in two parts: First, the withholding of salt water (normal saline) causes no pain and suffering of any kind. It takes weeks or months for significant salt depletion to develop and, when it does, the effect is a gradual drop in blood pressure and eventually a painless death from severe low blood pressure. Secondly, concerning withholding of plain water, here is where opponents conjure up images of the '49ers dying of thirst in Death Valley with horrible thirst, swollen tongues and cracked lips. The case is quite different for the comatose, terminally ill patient lying in bed, usually in an air-conditioned environment. The condition of the mouth depends upon the oral hygiene provided by the nursing staff, not on the state of hydration. Thirst, if present, is very subtle and easily treated, where appropriate, with ice chips or sips of water. There is no other pain and suffering that occurs. http://www.hospicecare.com/Ethics/MacDoc.htm 1. Comatose patients do not experience pain, thirst, etc. 2. Fluid may prolong the dying process. 3. Less urine output means less need for bed pan, urinal, commode, or catheter. 4. Less gastrointestinal fluid and less vomiting. 5. Less pulmonary secretions and less cough, choking, and congestion. 6. Minimize edema and ascites. 7. Decreased fluids and electrolyte imbalance act as natural anesthetics for the central nervous system with decreased levels of consciousness and decreased suffering.
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ROUGH TIMELINE AND DECISIONS
I encourage anyone interested in this case to read the judicial decisions that have been entered. Most informative, from a factual point of view, are Judge Greer's orders and the Second District's decisions. The December 2003 guardian ad litem report to Governor Bush provides perhaps the most detailed factual chronology available.
December 1963… Terri's birth date
November 1984… Terri & Michael marry
February 1990… Terri suffers cardiac arrest and a severe loss of oxygen to her brain
May 1990… Terri leaves hospital and is brought to a rehabiliation center for aggressive therapy
July 1990… Terri is brought to the home where her husband and parents live; after a few weeks, she is brought back to the rehabilitation center
November 1990… Terri is taken to California for experimental therapies
January 1991… Terri is returned to Florida and placed at a rehabilitation center in Brandon
July 1991… Terri is transfered to a skilled nursing facility where she receives aggressive physical therapy and speech therapy
May 1992… Michael and the Schindlers stop living together
January 1993… Michael recovers $1 million settlement for medical malpractice claim involving Terri's care; jury had ruled in Michael's favor on allegations Terri's doctors failed to diagnose her bulimia, which led to her heart failure; case settled while on appeal
March 1994… Terri is transferred to a Largo nursing home May 1998… Michael files petition for court to determine whether Terri's feeding tube should be removed; Michael takes position that Terri would chose to remove the tube; Terri's parents take position that Terri would chose not to remove the tube
February 2000… Following trial, Judge Greer rules that clear and convincing evidence shows Terri would chose not to receive life-prolonging medical care under her current circumstances (i.e., that she would chose to have the tube removed) [READ]
April 2000… Terri is transferred to a Hospice facility
January 2001… Second District Court of Appeal affirms the trial court's decision regarding Terri's wishes [READ]
April 23, 2001… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
April 23 or 24, 2001… Trial court orders feeding tube removed
April 24, 2001… Terri's feeding tube is removed
April 26, 2001… Terri's parents file motion asserting they have new evidence regarding Terri's wishes
April 26, 2001… Trial court denies Terri's parents' motion as untimely
April 26, 2001… Terri's parents file new legal action against Michael Schiavo and request that the removal of Terri's feeding tube be enjoined; the case is randomly assigned to Judge Quesada
April 26, 2001… Judge Quesada grants the temporary injunction, orders Terri's feeding tube restored
July 2001… Second District rules that Judge Greer erred in denying the motion alleging new evidence and, in essence, orders the trial court to consider whether new circumstances make enforcement of the original order inequitable; Second District also reverses the temporary injunction and orders dismissal of much of the new action filed before Judge Quesada [READ] (uncertain)… Terri's parents detail their reasons why enforcement is inequitable: (1) new witnesses have new information regarding Terri's wishes, and (2) new medical treatment could sufficiently restore Terri's cognitive functioning such that Terri would decide that, under those circumstances, she would continue life-prolonging measures; Terri's parents also move to disqualify Judge Greer (uncertain)… Trial court denies both motions as insufficient
October 2001… Second District affirms the denial of the motion to disqualify and the motion regarding the new witnesses; the appellate court reverses the order with regard to potential new medical treatments and orders a trial on that question with doctors testifying for both sides and a court-appointed independent doctor [READ]
March 2002… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
October 2002… Judge Greer holds a trial on the new medical treatment issue, hearing from doctors for both sides and a court-appointed independent doctor; Terri's parents also assert that Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state Schindlers file emergency motion for relief from judgment based on a 1991 bone scan report indicating Terri's body had previously been subjected to trauma
November 22, 2002… Following trial, Judge Greer denies Schindlers' motion for relief (new medical evidence motion), rules that no new treatment offers sufficient promise of improving Terri's cognitive functioning and that Terri is, in fact, in a persistent vegetative state [READ]
November 22, 2002… On this same day, Judge Greer denies Schindlers' emergency motion related to the 1991 bone scan [READ]
June 2003… Second District affirms the trial court's decision denying Schindlers' motion for relief from judgment [READ]
August 2003… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
September 2003… Terri's parents file federal action challenging Florida's laws on life-prolonging procedures as unconstitutional
October 10, 2003… Federal court dismisses Schindlers' case
October 15, 2003… Terri's feeding tube is disconnected
October 20, 2003… Florida House passes a bill to permit the Governor to issue a stay in cases like Terri's and restore her feeding tube
October 21, 2003… Federal court rejects injunction request
October 21, 2003… Florida House and Senate pass a bill known informally as "Terri's Law" to permit the Governor to issue a stay in cases like Terri's and restore her feeding tube [READ]; Governor signs the bill into law and immediately orders a stay; Terri is briefly hospitalized while her feeding tube is restored
October 21, 2003… Michael brings suit against the Governor, asking to enjoin the Governor's stay on grounds "Terri's Law" is unconstitutional; Judge Baird rejects Michael's request for an immediate injunction, allowing the tube to be restored, and requests briefs on the constitutional arguments involving the new law
November 7, 2003… Judge Baird rejects Governor's motion to dismiss Michael's suit and have case litigated in Tallahassee
November 20, 2003… Judge Baird rejects Governor's request for the judge to recuse himself
December 1, 2003… Guardian ad litem appointed under "Terri's Law" to advise Governor submits report to Governor [READ]
December 10, 2003… Second District rejects Governor's effort to have Judge Baird disqualified
April 2004… Second District affirms Judge Baird's decision denying Governor's motion to dismiss and have case litigated in Tallahassee [READ]
May 2004… Judge Baird declares "Terri's Law" unconstitutional on numerous grounds [READ]
June 2004… Second District certifies "Terri's Law" case directly to the Florida Supreme Court
July 2004… Schindlers file new motion for relief from judgment based on Pope John Paul II speech
September 2004… Florida Supreme Court affirms Judge Baird's ruling that "Terri's Law" is unconstitutional [READ]
October 2004… Judge Greer denies Schindlers' most recent motion for relief from judgment (motion based on Pope John Paul II speech) [READ]
December 1, 2004… Governor asks U.S. Supreme Court to review Florida Supreme Court's decision declaring "Terri's Law" unconstitutional
December 29, 2004… Second District affirms (without written opinion) Judge Greer's ruling denying Schindlers' most recent motion for relief from judgment
January 6, 2005… Schindlers file new motion for relief from judgment, alleging Terri never had her own attorney, that the trial court impermissibly applied the law retroactively, and that the original trial on Terri's wishes violated separation of powers principles
January 24, 2005… U.S. Supreme Court declines review in "Terri's Law" case
February 11, 2005… Judge Greer denies Schindlers' latest motion for relief from judgment [READ]
abstractappeal.com/schiav...l#timeline
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1. I do not agree it is *murder in the eyes of God* instead is allowing God to take Terri home and stopping mans interferance with the will of God. 2. Him being with another woman is a non-issue since TS is gone..there is a huge difference between keeping a body functioning and keeping someone alive...TS is no longer *alive* her body is simply being kept functioning by science. 3. When a person reaches a terminal state of illness the natural reaction of the body is to stop taking in nutrition..once again man is interferring w/Gods design to force nutrition on her body for no reason. If an animal was tortured in the is way the person involved would be imprisoned for cruelity to animals. Instead *christians* are complicit in the torture of TS. 4. Difference is TS is not in a *coma* of any type..not even a vegatative one..she is in PVS..which is completely different...and as scans have shown her brain tissue is dissolving and being replaced w/neuro-spinal fluid (which his brain was not having happen). Brain tissue can not be regenerated. If you would read the links I provided last time you would realize that opening her eyes in the manner which hers occurs is evidence of severe brains damage and minimal brain stem activity ONLY being left.
Please read through the documents at http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html
also Whichever model of recovery pattern was accepted by individual clinicians it was agreed that there were three phases of profound brain damage:
Coma State of unarousable neurobehavioural unresponsiveness. The patient does not have a sleep awake pattern (in absence of bilateral third cranial nerve lesion or lid apraxia) but may respond to painful stimulation by subcortical reflex pattern responses. It is generally accepted that coma rarely lasts more than one month before progressing into the Vegetative State or to higher levels of awareness.
Vegetative State The principle difference between coma and the Vegetative State is the appearance of a sleep-awake cycle and the return of bulbar reflexes. The term Vegetative State was coined by Jennett and Plum2 to provide a clinical diagnosis based on behavioural observations of the patient.
The term 'vegetative' was specifically chosen to describe "a merely physical life, devoid of sensation and thought".
The characteristics they described were:
Absence of any psychologically meaningful adaptive response to the external environment.
Absence of any evidence of a functioning mind which is receiving or projecting information.
Patient has prolonged periods of wakefulness.
Akinesia is relative because postural adjustments and stereotyped primitive withdrawals are usually possible.
Patients do not speak (verbalise) though may make sounds (vocalise).
Fail to signal appropriately by eye movements, although they sometimes follow moving objects in a slow intermittent pattern. Initially the EEG may be isoclectric, but considerable activity and even µrhythms may be found once the state has lasted several months.
Jennett & Plum2 describe in detail the type of clinical picture which may be seen in the Vegetative State:
After a variable period of coma patients open their eyes, at first to pain and then to less arousing stimuli.
This is then followed by periods with the eyes open.
May blink to menace but appear not to be attentive.
There may be roving eye movements and the patient's eyes may seem to briefly follow moving objects.
Reflex posturing.
Flexor withdrawal after a delay and is slow and dystonic and never takes the form of a brisk response.
Non-volitional grasp reflex may be present.
Fragments of co-ordinated movement, such as scratching or even moving the hands towards a noxious stimulus.
Reflex postural alterations of the limbs may be provoked by neck movements.
Chewing and grinding of teeth.
Liquid and food placed in the mouth may be swallowed.
Grunting and groaning may be provoked by noxious stimuli but no speech occurs.
No meaningful response to the spoken word.
More recently the Multi-Society Task Force on PVS3 gave the following criteria for diagnosing the Vegetative State:
No evidence of awareness of self or environment and an inability to interact with others.
No evidence of sustained, reproducible, purposeful, or voluntary behavioural responses to visual, auditory, tactile, or noxious stimuli.
No evidence of language comprehension or expression.
Intermittent wakefulness manifested by the presence of sleep-awake cycles.
Sufficiently preserved hypothalamic and brain stem autonomic functions to permit survival with medical and nursing care.
Bowel and bladder incontinence.
Variably preserved cranial-nerve reflexes (pupillary, oculocephalic, corneal, vestibulo-ocular, and gag) and spinal reflexes.
They go on to point out that in the Vegetative State patients are usually not immobile.
They may move the trunk or limbs in meaningless ways, they may occasionally smile, and a few may even shed tears, utter grunts or, on rare occasions, moan or scream.
Post Vegetative State
This is a state where the patient has progressed from the Vegetative State and is making definite responses to the internal (e.g. pain and bowel or bladder discomfort) and external environments which could be interpreted as being an expression of awareness.
.....A long life expectancy can be compatible with the Vegetative State.
Although a high proportion of patients in the Vegetative State die during the first six months it was the experience of members of the Working Party that a life expectancy of at least 15 years was common.
There are reports of people in the Vegetative State still being alive between 10-15 years after the brain damage.108,110
Jennett and Teasdale111 describe the case of a man who remained vegetative for 18 years.
The longest surviving PVS patient in the study by Tresch et al112 was 16.8 years in a 35 year old lady following a road traffic accident and she was still alive at the time of reporting.
The longest patient in 'coma' on record according to the Guinness Book of Records (admittedly not the most scientific of sources) is that of over 37 years though there is a case reported of a lady in the Vegetative State who is still alive 48 years after the brain damage.
LATE RECOVERY Although it has been stated that patients who are still vegetative at three months following the brain damage do not make significant levels of recovery there are several reports in the world literature of patients who have made a late recovery.
Andrews113 described a number of patients who recovered from the Vegetative State between 4-8 months after the brain injury, though many of these remained severely disabled.
Rosenberg et al114 describe the case of a 43 year old man who was in a Vegetative State for 17 months following anoxic brain damage before showing the first signs of awareness. He progressed to being able to tell stories and jokes though was unable to recognise complex collections of objects in pictures and was unable to read.
In another case115 a 44 year old man in a Vegetative State showed signs of recovery only one year following a subarachnoid haemorrhage to regain nearly normal physical and mental capabilities.
Information from the Traumatic Data Bank23 of 84 PVS patients who were followed up long-term (by phone rather than by clinical examination) found that 6% made some recovery between one and 2.5 years.
In a five year follow up116 of 30 patients in PVS, five recovered from PVS between one and five years though only two recovered to a level where they could communicate.
One was a 61 year old lady who was vegetative for three years following a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
The other was a 26 year old man who was vegetative for 8 months before beginning to respond. Both reached levels where they could read, watch television, write, calculate simple mathematical addition and subtraction, tell the time, feed themselves, were wheelchair independent and could speak well.
Other reports of recovery after a considerable length of time include that of an 18 year old lady in a Vegetative State for two and a half years following a road traffic accident. She progressed to a state within the following three years of being able to comprehend and communicate, take a considerable interest in her environment and able to establish interpersonal relationships114.
An even longer period of six years in a Vegetative State is described concerning a 25 year old woman who was involved in a road traffic accident. After 14 months of rehabilitation she was able to feed and groom herself and could dress and transfer with some assistance whilst her speech and cognitive function improved considerably. 118
(TS has been in PVS for 10 yrs) http://www.comarecovery.org/artman/publish/ReportOnTheVegetativeState.shtml
and http://www.bethel.edu/~rakrob/files/PVS.html
In recent discussions of euthanasia, coma, and the withdrawal of artificially supplied nutrition and fluids, considerable confusion exists where these topics intersect with the condition known as persistent vegetative state (PVS).
For example the terms "PVS" and "coma" are sometimes erroneously used interchangeably, especially by the popular media.
{1} Further, regarding the withdrawal of food and water from PVS individuals, some opponents of the practice wrongly allege the intention to kill (aiming at death) on the part of all who allow the practice.
{2} Such withdrawal is sometimes incorrectly viewed as euthanasia and is grouped indiscriminately with the deliberate termination of the lives of conscious yet severely disabled persons.
{3} Concerning the morality of withdrawing mechanical feeding in cases of PVS, two main positions have emerged, even within the evangelical Christian community.
Typical of the one side is Joseph Foreman, a founder of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue. Foreman called Cruzan's death a tragedy. "I think in the next few years you will see an entire industry spring up around putting people to death whom family, friends and so forth have deemed to be no longer of use to anybody," he said. "There will be wings of hospitals devoted to putting people to death like this."
{7} This side considers Nancy Cruzan's death a case of euthanasia and morally wrong.
Typical of the other side is Kenneth Schemmer, a surgeon in Orange County, California, and a member of First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton.
A physician for twenty-five years, Schemmer stated his opinion before the Supreme Court heard the case. He argued that the Court "should allow Nancy Cruzan's living corpse to die."
In Schemmer's view "Nancy actually died on January 11, 1983, of anoxia" as the result of her car accident, which produced cardiorespiratory arrest. Because Nancy's cerebral cortex—the seat of consciousness, reasoning, value decisions, and everything else we associate with personality—was so severely damaged that it no longer functioned, only her living "animal" body remained. Her "mammalian body" should be allowed to die.
{8} What is a proper Christian response to the issue of PVS?
Specifically, should Christians ever request the withdrawal of fluid and nutrition from individuals in this condition? According to the American Medical Association there are an estimated 10,000 PVS patients in the United States. To disconnect food and water from those in PVS will almost certainly result in dehydration and starvation within seven to fourteen days. To continue to supply food and water will ensure the maintenance of bodily processes for a time, often for years (the longest PVS case on record is thirty-seven years), but will almost certainly not lead to improvement in the patient.
{9} ......... The human body must always be respected—in death and dying as well as in life—because the person who was, while on earth, the image of God functioned as God's representative through that body. But the prolongation of biological life in the apparent absence of personal life is not mandated by the Christian principle of respect for life.{55} Because equipment is available to feed a body does not mean that it should always be used. Some who oppose withdrawal of artificial feeding tubes are unwilling to have such devices connected to themselves or their loved ones in the first place, if their prognosis should be for a prolonged and permanent vegetative state. This unwillingness to connect feeding devices reveals that such persons actually agree that whatever may be used to prolong bodily existence is not always morally obligatory. If it were obligatory, no upright person should ever hesitate to connect artificial feeding equipment to a loved one who would by this means be enabled to live possibly many more years, if only in a vegetative state.{56} In Christian ethics one's intention is always a key factor in determining the morality of a given action. To disconnect the feeding tube from a PVS individual must never be done with the intention to kill—to take a person's life. Our attitude and intention should be that of turning the individual over to God's providence, allowing the condition to take its course. Yet—as with many conditions judged "hopeless" by human standards—we may hope beyond all reason for hope that God will yet quicken the loved one if that would honor him and be best for the patient. Even though we may be quite reasonably assured that the individual's personal life is over, we may hope otherwise.
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To sum this up: Terri Schiavo no longer has the capacity to feel anything..the parts of her brain that allow feeling have been totally destroyed. She can not feel cold, heat, pain, hunger, thirst, etc...
This issue has a personal tie for me. My mother fought Ovarian Cancer for 7 yrs, before losing her fight for life on May 5, 2004.
We removed my mothers feeding tube and iv nutrients on May 1, 2004..
(my mother died of ovarian cancer...she slipped into a coma (not pvs) following a second surgery in 2 weeks to try and clear up sepsis from the previous surgery to clear an intestinal blockage from scar tissue, my mother was not going to get better..if she did come out of the coma she only had days, possibly weeks of horrendous pain to look forward to because the cancer had spread to her liver).
We did leave a morphine pump attached *just in case* for my fathers peace of mind...and we also agreed that if she showed any signs of hunger we would restart the nutrients.
In the days before slipping into the coma my mother was in agony...she was in pain even with the morphine drip/pump...
she kept drifting into other states of mind..
she would ask us to bring her mother to her (my grandma died 2-14-89)...
she would tell her mother that her shoes were too tight...
she kept asking to go home...
she could not eat or drink anything..even ice chips made her gag..
My mothers physical death was very peaceful and gentle,
once the tubes were removed and we allowed her body to shut down naturally.
She lay still (no more moving around as if searching for something..
no more shaking her head making murmering sounds...
no more lines of pain etched into her face...
no more mouth held tight as if in pain)..
she looked peaceful, like the mama of my childhood.....
she never roused..
she never showed discomfort...
she never showed hunger or thirst....
she breathed in and out....slower and slower as the days progressed.
.and at 8:30 AM on May 5, 2004 she took a last deep breath, let it out and went home to God.
The only thing *horrendous* about this procedure was that we were losing the last earthly contact with someone we loved so much..
.my father was losing the ability to sit beside the woman he had loved for 50 yrs and talk to her...
to look at her face and see her breathing in and out...
but in return we knew we were letting her go because it was what was best for her...and we were doing this because it was the only thing left that we could do for her.
The feeding tubes, etc were no longer *keeping my mom ALIVE* they were simply *keeping her body functioning* and it was time to let go with human interferance and let God decide.
Newsflash people: withdrawing nutrients is not *starving someone to death*. if you want the unbiased information about this case go to http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html you can read the actual court documents, etc. A very different story emerges then the one being spread by her family members. Teri is gone...her brain is atrophying and being replaced w/neuro-spinal fluid. Brain tissue can not be regenerated, ever. All the therapy and medical treatment in the world is not going to make any difference in her condition. She is in PVS..permanent vegatative state...permanent. http://www.sclhsc.org/mission_vision_values/ethics/pvs.asp also http://www.bethel.edu/~rakrob/files/PVS.html The persistent vegetative state may be defined loosely as a condition in which there is no awareness of the self or the surroundings though the patient appears at times to be awake. The condition results primarily from severe cerebral injury and is usually associated with but not limited to functionally complete destruction of the cerebral neocortex. The electroencephalogram (EEG) reading is either very depressed or flat. Under the microscope most patients' brains show extensive cortical destruction, but a small number may have more localized damage. Individuals in PVS are seldom on any life-sustaining equipment other than a feeding tube.{13} The brainstem—the center of vegetative functions (such as heart rate and rhythm, respiration, gastrointestinal activity)—is relatively intact. PVS individuals thus breathe spontaneously, their hearts beat regularly, and they show sleep-wake sequences. They may have a grasp reflex, may exhibit yawning or chewing movements, and may swallow spontaneously. When food and water are supplied the digestive system utilizes the nutrients, the intestines produce waste products, and the kidneys yield urine. Most patients are silent, but some groan at times. The heart, lungs and blood vessels continue to move air and blood. "Personality, memory, purposive action, social interaction, sentience, thought, and even emotional states are gone. Only vegetative functions and reflexes persist.{14} The American Academy of Neurology has concluded that PVS patients do not experience pain or suffering. Ronald Cranford, a leading authority on PVS, states that "from a neurologic standpoint, they simply do not experience pain, suffering, or cognition."{15} (Cranford is one of the doctors involved w/Schiavo case) Are PVS individuals permanently unconscious? If their condition is sometimes reversible, the decision to discontinue fluid and nutrition is a much more difficult one to make. If their condition is genuinely irreversible, the moral obligation for continuing artificial feeding is harder to establish. Do we know for sure that PVS patients cannot recover? To answer this question Schernmer presents the recent findings of Fred Plum, a professor in the department of neurology at the New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, and his associates. Plum has been at the leading edge in this area of neurological research. He and Bryan Jennett were the first to describe the medical condition of PVS after brain damage.{41} Plum’s latest findings{42} are highly significant. Using positron emission tomographic (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolic rate, [researchers] discovered there is no metabolic overlap between vegetative patients and either normal or locked-in persons. They also found that even patients with marked cerebral atrophy could not be confused on the CT [computerized tomography] scan with those in the vegetative state (complete cortical death).{43} What this means, according to Schernmer, is that for the first time since we began connecting people to machines that replace their vital organs we can now determine whether we are keeping a person alive or keeping a body functioning. He calls this a "welcome breakthrough" that "may provide us with our first truly ethical release from one aspect of the life-support dilemma."{44}
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what the scans have shown w/TS is that we are simply keeping her BODY functioning..she is not being kept *alive*. Please take some time to read the actual medical and court documents instead of taking for truth the partial truths and misrepresentations of her parents, etc. I am speaking from experience here...w/both my FIL (following a car accident that ruptured his aorta) and my mother (she slipped into a coma following surgery for sepsis following bowel surgery and after her ovarian cancer had spread to her liver)..sometimes the greatest gift you can give a loved one is to allow them to die. Terri died many years ago...it is time to allow her body to rest as well.
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more on the withdrawal of nutrients from a pvs patient Removing nutrients is not *painful starvation* for someone in PVS. They are not hungry..it is more cruel to continue forcing nutrients on them. Do you have any concept of how painful a gtube and catheter are that have been in place for years? That is cruel. Please read the links that have been given. You are operating under false assumptions. (in regards to what her husband has and has not allowed and what her actual medical condition is) In looking at comfort measures for the terminally ill, Billings went a stage further in noting: "... fluid depletion in dying patients should be regarded as a disorder with relatively benign symptoms. Successful treatment of the discomfort of thirst and a dry mouth generally does not require rehydration." By 1988, Printz had publicised the little-known situation where: ... A hospice nurse in 1983 noted a correlation between comfort and lack of medical hydration. It appeared to her that terminally ill patients in end-stage dehydration experienced less discomfort than patients receiving medical hydration. The dehydration, resulting from lack of nasogastric or IV fluid, seemed to produce a natural anaesthetic effect, often allowing for a reduction in pain medications. http://www.globalideasbank.org/creend/CRE-13.HTML A study by Andrews and Levine published in 1989 showed widespread support among hospice workers for dehydration in some terminal patients: '53% of nurses agreed that dehydration can be beneficial for the dying' Of the hospice nurses surveyed, 71 per cent agreed that dehydration reduces the incidence of vomiting, 73 per cent agreed that dehydrated patients rarely complain of thirst, 51 per cent reported that there is relief from choking and drowning sensations when fluids are discontinued, and 53 per cent agreed that dehydration can be beneficial for the dying patient. Also, 85 per cent of nurses surveyed disagreed with the need for hydration by IV and/or tube feeding when dehydrated patients have a dry mouth. Finally, 82 per cent of the nurses disagreed with the statement that dehydration is painful. They concluded that, in contrast to the assumption of most health professionals, dehydration was not painful, and that it was therefore a viable alternative to facilitate a comfortable death. "Isn't starving people to death cruel?" Persons in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state are in deep coma. They have no sense of time and they do not feel pleasure or pain. They do not sense the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration. 'In a natural death, the terminally ill person refuses food and all but sips of water' For all of history, until very recently, people have been dying without artificial nutrition and hydration. In a natural death, the terminally ill person does not want and even refuses food and all but sips of water. It is natural for the dying to refrain from ingesting food and water. It is unnatural to "force-feed" the dying. In 1986, Belding Scribner, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, inventor of long term artificial kidney treatment and consultant on nutrition and hydration, testified before the Washington State Senate about whether it is humane to withdraw hydration. He stated the following: Withholding of hydration has to be considered in two parts: First, the withholding of salt water (normal saline) causes no pain and suffering of any kind. It takes weeks or months for significant salt depletion to develop and, when it does, the effect is a gradual drop in blood pressure and eventually a painless death from severe low blood pressure. Secondly, concerning withholding of plain water, here is where opponents conjure up images of the '49ers dying of thirst in Death Valley with horrible thirst, swollen tongues and cracked lips. The case is quite different for the comatose, terminally ill patient lying in bed, usually in an air-conditioned environment. The condition of the mouth depends upon the oral hygiene provided by the nursing staff, not on the state of hydration. Thirst, if present, is very subtle and easily treated, where appropriate, with ice chips or sips of water. There is no other pain and suffering that occurs. http://www.hospicecare.com/Ethics/MacDoc.htm 1. Comatose patients do not experience pain, thirst, etc. 2. Fluid may prolong the dying process. 3. Less urine output means less need for bed pan, urinal, commode, or catheter. 4. Less gastrointestinal fluid and less vomiting. 5. Less pulmonary secretions and less cough, choking, and congestion. 6. Minimize edema and ascites. 7. Decreased fluids and electrolyte imbalance act as natural anesthetics for the central nervous system with decreased levels of consciousness and decreased suffering.
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ROUGH TIMELINE AND DECISIONS
I encourage anyone interested in this case to read the judicial decisions that have been entered. Most informative, from a factual point of view, are Judge Greer's orders and the Second District's decisions. The December 2003 guardian ad litem report to Governor Bush provides perhaps the most detailed factual chronology available.
December 1963… Terri's birth date
November 1984… Terri & Michael marry
February 1990… Terri suffers cardiac arrest and a severe loss of oxygen to her brain
May 1990… Terri leaves hospital and is brought to a rehabiliation center for aggressive therapy
July 1990… Terri is brought to the home where her husband and parents live; after a few weeks, she is brought back to the rehabilitation center
November 1990… Terri is taken to California for experimental therapies
January 1991… Terri is returned to Florida and placed at a rehabilitation center in Brandon
July 1991… Terri is transfered to a skilled nursing facility where she receives aggressive physical therapy and speech therapy
May 1992… Michael and the Schindlers stop living together
January 1993… Michael recovers $1 million settlement for medical malpractice claim involving Terri's care; jury had ruled in Michael's favor on allegations Terri's doctors failed to diagnose her bulimia, which led to her heart failure; case settled while on appeal
March 1994… Terri is transferred to a Largo nursing home May 1998… Michael files petition for court to determine whether Terri's feeding tube should be removed; Michael takes position that Terri would chose to remove the tube; Terri's parents take position that Terri would chose not to remove the tube
February 2000… Following trial, Judge Greer rules that clear and convincing evidence shows Terri would chose not to receive life-prolonging medical care under her current circumstances (i.e., that she would chose to have the tube removed) [READ]
April 2000… Terri is transferred to a Hospice facility
January 2001… Second District Court of Appeal affirms the trial court's decision regarding Terri's wishes [READ]
April 23, 2001… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
April 23 or 24, 2001… Trial court orders feeding tube removed
April 24, 2001… Terri's feeding tube is removed
April 26, 2001… Terri's parents file motion asserting they have new evidence regarding Terri's wishes
April 26, 2001… Trial court denies Terri's parents' motion as untimely
April 26, 2001… Terri's parents file new legal action against Michael Schiavo and request that the removal of Terri's feeding tube be enjoined; the case is randomly assigned to Judge Quesada
April 26, 2001… Judge Quesada grants the temporary injunction, orders Terri's feeding tube restored
July 2001… Second District rules that Judge Greer erred in denying the motion alleging new evidence and, in essence, orders the trial court to consider whether new circumstances make enforcement of the original order inequitable; Second District also reverses the temporary injunction and orders dismissal of much of the new action filed before Judge Quesada [READ] (uncertain)… Terri's parents detail their reasons why enforcement is inequitable: (1) new witnesses have new information regarding Terri's wishes, and (2) new medical treatment could sufficiently restore Terri's cognitive functioning such that Terri would decide that, under those circumstances, she would continue life-prolonging measures; Terri's parents also move to disqualify Judge Greer (uncertain)… Trial court denies both motions as insufficient
October 2001… Second District affirms the denial of the motion to disqualify and the motion regarding the new witnesses; the appellate court reverses the order with regard to potential new medical treatments and orders a trial on that question with doctors testifying for both sides and a court-appointed independent doctor [READ]
March 2002… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
October 2002… Judge Greer holds a trial on the new medical treatment issue, hearing from doctors for both sides and a court-appointed independent doctor; Terri's parents also assert that Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state Schindlers file emergency motion for relief from judgment based on a 1991 bone scan report indicating Terri's body had previously been subjected to trauma
November 22, 2002… Following trial, Judge Greer denies Schindlers' motion for relief (new medical evidence motion), rules that no new treatment offers sufficient promise of improving Terri's cognitive functioning and that Terri is, in fact, in a persistent vegetative state [READ]
November 22, 2002… On this same day, Judge Greer denies Schindlers' emergency motion related to the 1991 bone scan [READ]
June 2003… Second District affirms the trial court's decision denying Schindlers' motion for relief from judgment [READ]
August 2003… Florida Supreme Court denies review of the Second District's decision [READ]
September 2003… Terri's parents file federal action challenging Florida's laws on life-prolonging procedures as unconstitutional
October 10, 2003… Federal court dismisses Schindlers' case
October 15, 2003… Terri's feeding tube is disconnected
October 20, 2003… Florida House passes a bill to permit the Governor to issue a stay in cases like Terri's and restore her feeding tube
October 21, 2003… Federal court rejects injunction request
October 21, 2003… Florida House and Senate pass a bill known informally as "Terri's Law" to permit the Governor to issue a stay in cases like Terri's and restore her feeding tube [READ]; Governor signs the bill into law and immediately orders a stay; Terri is briefly hospitalized while her feeding tube is restored
October 21, 2003… Michael brings suit against the Governor, asking to enjoin the Governor's stay on grounds "Terri's Law" is unconstitutional; Judge Baird rejects Michael's request for an immediate injunction, allowing the tube to be restored, and requests briefs on the constitutional arguments involving the new law
November 7, 2003… Judge Baird rejects Governor's motion to dismiss Michael's suit and have case litigated in Tallahassee
November 20, 2003… Judge Baird rejects Governor's request for the judge to recuse himself
December 1, 2003… Guardian ad litem appointed under "Terri's Law" to advise Governor submits report to Governor [READ]
December 10, 2003… Second District rejects Governor's effort to have Judge Baird disqualified
April 2004… Second District affirms Judge Baird's decision denying Governor's motion to dismiss and have case litigated in Tallahassee [READ]
May 2004… Judge Baird declares "Terri's Law" unconstitutional on numerous grounds [READ]
June 2004… Second District certifies "Terri's Law" case directly to the Florida Supreme Court
July 2004… Schindlers file new motion for relief from judgment based on Pope John Paul II speech
September 2004… Florida Supreme Court affirms Judge Baird's ruling that "Terri's Law" is unconstitutional [READ]
October 2004… Judge Greer denies Schindlers' most recent motion for relief from judgment (motion based on Pope John Paul II speech) [READ]
December 1, 2004… Governor asks U.S. Supreme Court to review Florida Supreme Court's decision declaring "Terri's Law" unconstitutional
December 29, 2004… Second District affirms (without written opinion) Judge Greer's ruling denying Schindlers' most recent motion for relief from judgment
January 6, 2005… Schindlers file new motion for relief from judgment, alleging Terri never had her own attorney, that the trial court impermissibly applied the law retroactively, and that the original trial on Terri's wishes violated separation of powers principles
January 24, 2005… U.S. Supreme Court declines review in "Terri's Law" case
February 11, 2005… Judge Greer denies Schindlers' latest motion for relief from judgment [READ]
abstractappeal.com/schiav...l#timeline
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1. I do not agree it is *murder in the eyes of God* instead is allowing God to take Terri home and stopping mans interferance with the will of God. 2. Him being with another woman is a non-issue since TS is gone..there is a huge difference between keeping a body functioning and keeping someone alive...TS is no longer *alive* her body is simply being kept functioning by science. 3. When a person reaches a terminal state of illness the natural reaction of the body is to stop taking in nutrition..once again man is interferring w/Gods design to force nutrition on her body for no reason. If an animal was tortured in the is way the person involved would be imprisoned for cruelity to animals. Instead *christians* are complicit in the torture of TS. 4. Difference is TS is not in a *coma* of any type..not even a vegatative one..she is in PVS..which is completely different...and as scans have shown her brain tissue is dissolving and being replaced w/neuro-spinal fluid (which his brain was not having happen). Brain tissue can not be regenerated. If you would read the links I provided last time you would realize that opening her eyes in the manner which hers occurs is evidence of severe brains damage and minimal brain stem activity ONLY being left.
Please read through the documents at http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html
also Whichever model of recovery pattern was accepted by individual clinicians it was agreed that there were three phases of profound brain damage:
Coma State of unarousable neurobehavioural unresponsiveness. The patient does not have a sleep awake pattern (in absence of bilateral third cranial nerve lesion or lid apraxia) but may respond to painful stimulation by subcortical reflex pattern responses. It is generally accepted that coma rarely lasts more than one month before progressing into the Vegetative State or to higher levels of awareness.
Vegetative State The principle difference between coma and the Vegetative State is the appearance of a sleep-awake cycle and the return of bulbar reflexes. The term Vegetative State was coined by Jennett and Plum2 to provide a clinical diagnosis based on behavioural observations of the patient.
The term 'vegetative' was specifically chosen to describe "a merely physical life, devoid of sensation and thought".
The characteristics they described were:
Absence of any psychologically meaningful adaptive response to the external environment.
Absence of any evidence of a functioning mind which is receiving or projecting information.
Patient has prolonged periods of wakefulness.
Akinesia is relative because postural adjustments and stereotyped primitive withdrawals are usually possible.
Patients do not speak (verbalise) though may make sounds (vocalise).
Fail to signal appropriately by eye movements, although they sometimes follow moving objects in a slow intermittent pattern. Initially the EEG may be isoclectric, but considerable activity and even µrhythms may be found once the state has lasted several months.
Jennett & Plum2 describe in detail the type of clinical picture which may be seen in the Vegetative State:
After a variable period of coma patients open their eyes, at first to pain and then to less arousing stimuli.
This is then followed by periods with the eyes open.
May blink to menace but appear not to be attentive.
There may be roving eye movements and the patient's eyes may seem to briefly follow moving objects.
Reflex posturing.
Flexor withdrawal after a delay and is slow and dystonic and never takes the form of a brisk response.
Non-volitional grasp reflex may be present.
Fragments of co-ordinated movement, such as scratching or even moving the hands towards a noxious stimulus.
Reflex postural alterations of the limbs may be provoked by neck movements.
Chewing and grinding of teeth.
Liquid and food placed in the mouth may be swallowed.
Grunting and groaning may be provoked by noxious stimuli but no speech occurs.
No meaningful response to the spoken word.
More recently the Multi-Society Task Force on PVS3 gave the following criteria for diagnosing the Vegetative State:
No evidence of awareness of self or environment and an inability to interact with others.
No evidence of sustained, reproducible, purposeful, or voluntary behavioural responses to visual, auditory, tactile, or noxious stimuli.
No evidence of language comprehension or expression.
Intermittent wakefulness manifested by the presence of sleep-awake cycles.
Sufficiently preserved hypothalamic and brain stem autonomic functions to permit survival with medical and nursing care.
Bowel and bladder incontinence.
Variably preserved cranial-nerve reflexes (pupillary, oculocephalic, corneal, vestibulo-ocular, and gag) and spinal reflexes.
They go on to point out that in the Vegetative State patients are usually not immobile.
They may move the trunk or limbs in meaningless ways, they may occasionally smile, and a few may even shed tears, utter grunts or, on rare occasions, moan or scream.
Post Vegetative State
This is a state where the patient has progressed from the Vegetative State and is making definite responses to the internal (e.g. pain and bowel or bladder discomfort) and external environments which could be interpreted as being an expression of awareness.
.....A long life expectancy can be compatible with the Vegetative State.
Although a high proportion of patients in the Vegetative State die during the first six months it was the experience of members of the Working Party that a life expectancy of at least 15 years was common.
There are reports of people in the Vegetative State still being alive between 10-15 years after the brain damage.108,110
Jennett and Teasdale111 describe the case of a man who remained vegetative for 18 years.
The longest surviving PVS patient in the study by Tresch et al112 was 16.8 years in a 35 year old lady following a road traffic accident and she was still alive at the time of reporting.
The longest patient in 'coma' on record according to the Guinness Book of Records (admittedly not the most scientific of sources) is that of over 37 years though there is a case reported of a lady in the Vegetative State who is still alive 48 years after the brain damage.
LATE RECOVERY Although it has been stated that patients who are still vegetative at three months following the brain damage do not make significant levels of recovery there are several reports in the world literature of patients who have made a late recovery.
Andrews113 described a number of patients who recovered from the Vegetative State between 4-8 months after the brain injury, though many of these remained severely disabled.
Rosenberg et al114 describe the case of a 43 year old man who was in a Vegetative State for 17 months following anoxic brain damage before showing the first signs of awareness. He progressed to being able to tell stories and jokes though was unable to recognise complex collections of objects in pictures and was unable to read.
In another case115 a 44 year old man in a Vegetative State showed signs of recovery only one year following a subarachnoid haemorrhage to regain nearly normal physical and mental capabilities.
Information from the Traumatic Data Bank23 of 84 PVS patients who were followed up long-term (by phone rather than by clinical examination) found that 6% made some recovery between one and 2.5 years.
In a five year follow up116 of 30 patients in PVS, five recovered from PVS between one and five years though only two recovered to a level where they could communicate.
One was a 61 year old lady who was vegetative for three years following a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
The other was a 26 year old man who was vegetative for 8 months before beginning to respond. Both reached levels where they could read, watch television, write, calculate simple mathematical addition and subtraction, tell the time, feed themselves, were wheelchair independent and could speak well.
Other reports of recovery after a considerable length of time include that of an 18 year old lady in a Vegetative State for two and a half years following a road traffic accident. She progressed to a state within the following three years of being able to comprehend and communicate, take a considerable interest in her environment and able to establish interpersonal relationships114.
An even longer period of six years in a Vegetative State is described concerning a 25 year old woman who was involved in a road traffic accident. After 14 months of rehabilitation she was able to feed and groom herself and could dress and transfer with some assistance whilst her speech and cognitive function improved considerably. 118
(TS has been in PVS for 10 yrs) http://www.comarecovery.org/artman/publish/ReportOnTheVegetativeState.shtml
and http://www.bethel.edu/~rakrob/files/PVS.html
In recent discussions of euthanasia, coma, and the withdrawal of artificially supplied nutrition and fluids, considerable confusion exists where these topics intersect with the condition known as persistent vegetative state (PVS).
For example the terms "PVS" and "coma" are sometimes erroneously used interchangeably, especially by the popular media.
{1} Further, regarding the withdrawal of food and water from PVS individuals, some opponents of the practice wrongly allege the intention to kill (aiming at death) on the part of all who allow the practice.
{2} Such withdrawal is sometimes incorrectly viewed as euthanasia and is grouped indiscriminately with the deliberate termination of the lives of conscious yet severely disabled persons.
{3} Concerning the morality of withdrawing mechanical feeding in cases of PVS, two main positions have emerged, even within the evangelical Christian community.
Typical of the one side is Joseph Foreman, a founder of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue. Foreman called Cruzan's death a tragedy. "I think in the next few years you will see an entire industry spring up around putting people to death whom family, friends and so forth have deemed to be no longer of use to anybody," he said. "There will be wings of hospitals devoted to putting people to death like this."
{7} This side considers Nancy Cruzan's death a case of euthanasia and morally wrong.
Typical of the other side is Kenneth Schemmer, a surgeon in Orange County, California, and a member of First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton.
A physician for twenty-five years, Schemmer stated his opinion before the Supreme Court heard the case. He argued that the Court "should allow Nancy Cruzan's living corpse to die."
In Schemmer's view "Nancy actually died on January 11, 1983, of anoxia" as the result of her car accident, which produced cardiorespiratory arrest. Because Nancy's cerebral cortex—the seat of consciousness, reasoning, value decisions, and everything else we associate with personality—was so severely damaged that it no longer functioned, only her living "animal" body remained. Her "mammalian body" should be allowed to die.
{8} What is a proper Christian response to the issue of PVS?
Specifically, should Christians ever request the withdrawal of fluid and nutrition from individuals in this condition? According to the American Medical Association there are an estimated 10,000 PVS patients in the United States. To disconnect food and water from those in PVS will almost certainly result in dehydration and starvation within seven to fourteen days. To continue to supply food and water will ensure the maintenance of bodily processes for a time, often for years (the longest PVS case on record is thirty-seven years), but will almost certainly not lead to improvement in the patient.
{9} ......... The human body must always be respected—in death and dying as well as in life—because the person who was, while on earth, the image of God functioned as God's representative through that body. But the prolongation of biological life in the apparent absence of personal life is not mandated by the Christian principle of respect for life.{55} Because equipment is available to feed a body does not mean that it should always be used. Some who oppose withdrawal of artificial feeding tubes are unwilling to have such devices connected to themselves or their loved ones in the first place, if their prognosis should be for a prolonged and permanent vegetative state. This unwillingness to connect feeding devices reveals that such persons actually agree that whatever may be used to prolong bodily existence is not always morally obligatory. If it were obligatory, no upright person should ever hesitate to connect artificial feeding equipment to a loved one who would by this means be enabled to live possibly many more years, if only in a vegetative state.{56} In Christian ethics one's intention is always a key factor in determining the morality of a given action. To disconnect the feeding tube from a PVS individual must never be done with the intention to kill—to take a person's life. Our attitude and intention should be that of turning the individual over to God's providence, allowing the condition to take its course. Yet—as with many conditions judged "hopeless" by human standards—we may hope beyond all reason for hope that God will yet quicken the loved one if that would honor him and be best for the patient. Even though we may be quite reasonably assured that the individual's personal life is over, we may hope otherwise.
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To sum this up: Terri Schiavo no longer has the capacity to feel anything..the parts of her brain that allow feeling have been totally destroyed. She can not feel cold, heat, pain, hunger, thirst, etc...
This issue has a personal tie for me. My mother fought Ovarian Cancer for 7 yrs, before losing her fight for life on May 5, 2004.
We removed my mothers feeding tube and iv nutrients on May 1, 2004..
(my mother died of ovarian cancer...she slipped into a coma (not pvs) following a second surgery in 2 weeks to try and clear up sepsis from the previous surgery to clear an intestinal blockage from scar tissue, my mother was not going to get better..if she did come out of the coma she only had days, possibly weeks of horrendous pain to look forward to because the cancer had spread to her liver).
We did leave a morphine pump attached *just in case* for my fathers peace of mind...and we also agreed that if she showed any signs of hunger we would restart the nutrients.
In the days before slipping into the coma my mother was in agony...she was in pain even with the morphine drip/pump...
she kept drifting into other states of mind..
she would ask us to bring her mother to her (my grandma died 2-14-89)...
she would tell her mother that her shoes were too tight...
she kept asking to go home...
she could not eat or drink anything..even ice chips made her gag..
My mothers physical death was very peaceful and gentle,
once the tubes were removed and we allowed her body to shut down naturally.
She lay still (no more moving around as if searching for something..
no more shaking her head making murmering sounds...
no more lines of pain etched into her face...
no more mouth held tight as if in pain)..
she looked peaceful, like the mama of my childhood.....
she never roused..
she never showed discomfort...
she never showed hunger or thirst....
she breathed in and out....slower and slower as the days progressed.
.and at 8:30 AM on May 5, 2004 she took a last deep breath, let it out and went home to God.
The only thing *horrendous* about this procedure was that we were losing the last earthly contact with someone we loved so much..
.my father was losing the ability to sit beside the woman he had loved for 50 yrs and talk to her...
to look at her face and see her breathing in and out...
but in return we knew we were letting her go because it was what was best for her...and we were doing this because it was the only thing left that we could do for her.
The feeding tubes, etc were no longer *keeping my mom ALIVE* they were simply *keeping her body functioning* and it was time to let go with human interferance and let God decide.
posted by Kharma @ 11:06 AM
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