Noodles about Terry Schiavo

[geminigirl]

I feel for Terry's parents-no parent wants to bury a child. But the person who probably knew her most intimately, the person she chose marry, is ultimately the person with whom these life or death decisions rest with.

Other ramblings...

I don't understand how the people who claim to be in favor of allowing her to live can also be the ones trying to carry water to her. I don't understand how her husband can refuse to allow her to recieve Comunion, if that's something that was in her life important to her. In no way do I understand the people who talk about the sanctity of life and then become involved in murder plots against others.

And I hope when the time comes, that I can be strong and abide by the wishes the people who entrust me to make these important decisions.

Comments

[rivka.livejournal.com]

My understanding was that she did receive Last Rites (which includes Communion) through her feeding tube, just before it was removed. Are they now saying something different?

[geminigirl]

On the radio on Sunday as we were driving, we heard that Michael Schiavo wouldn't allow her to recieve Communion on Easter. I don't know about what she was allowed to recieve prior to that.

[gsh]

I wasn't there, but at least one media article says she did receive communion.

[geminigirl]

On the radio on Sunday as we were driving, we heard that Michael Schiavo wouldn't allow her to recieve Communion on Easter. I don't know about what she was allowed to recieve prior to that.

[gsh]

We're in dueling media reports then, this is what CNN says.

[geminigirl]

Interesting...

[aliki.livejournal.com]

But the person who probably knew her most intimately, the person she chose marry, is ultimately the person with whom these life or death decisions rest with.

Call me a cynic, but I personally feel her parents, who had known her for 20+ years before she went into the suspicious coma, knew her a hell lot better than her husband of a few years that quickly remarried and had two kids, and is looking to inherit half a million dollars upon her death. And considering one in every two marriages end in divorce, I dont know if I buy the idea that we all marry people who we wish to make life/death decisions for us.

As for Communion, he did try and refuse to allow her to receive Communion, but a priest came and gave her wine on her tongue (no bread though, coz she can't eat that). He is also moving to have her cremated (a big no-no for us Catholics) which is bugging the hell out of me.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

He isn't remarried (polygamy is illegal), but he does have a live-in gf whom he has two kids. I don't know when he found the new gf, but I can't imagine staying married to a comatose woman for 15 years. Everyone deserves more than that.

I am not certain anyone really knows what she wants in this case. There is a lot of he said/she said in this case, and both sides have done a lot to demonize each other. I can't imagine why her parents would rather her stay alive in a coma for decades at a time and I can't imagine why her husband wouldn't divorce her. Everyone needs to move onto the next stage of their lives.

And to think that the comatose woman set this all in motion on her own with an eating disorder....

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

I can imagine why he's stayed married to her. I wouldn't guraantee it, but his claim that he feels obliged to stay involved to try to carry out her wishies is quite believeable. Assuming he's sincere, he can't divorce her without abandoning her to caretakers whose care is not what she would want. Are you really saying that such commitment is unfathomable to you?

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Assuming you are right that he is being sincere, why didn't they got through this a long time ago? 15 years in a vegetative state? I can understand that last 3-5 years have been in and out of courts, but why did they wait so long. If you are right, his commitment is noble.

But for all intents and purposes he has tried to move on with his life. He's got the live-in gf and two kids. At some point you'd think he'd want to say "I need to move on."

[geminigirl]

I won't call you a cynic...but I do wonder about something. The person who is most likely to know my end of life wishes is probably Cayne. Not necessarily because we'd sat down and had a conversation about it, but ecause it's likely to have come up-even in casual conversation, watching the news or something about a similar thing. I'm not likely to have had it sort of randomly come up like that with my parents, and if I haven't put it in writing, Cayne is probably the most likely one to know what I've said about it.

I feel better knowing that she did get Communion, if it was something that was important to her in her life.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I do have to admit that it was after possibly too much drink or too much sugar that my family talked me into being a body donor....

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

What do you mean "suspicious coma"? Is Randall Terry and crew now trying to insinuate that her heart attack was some sort of plot by her husband to get her money?

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

It was unfortunately self-caused in many ways. She had an eating disorder, which screwed with her electrolytes, and caused the heart attack/stroke....

[geminigirl]

I'm not trying to sway you on this issue...I understand where you're coming from. But I also noticed that you disabled comments on your most recent post...and I think it's a valid point, but really a different issue entirely. My friend Jeremy (who has a background of some sort in neuroscience) provides a good scientific discussion in his own journal.