All I've read is that the judge won't order the feeding tube to be reinserted into Terri Shiavo's stomach. I don't know any more than that this morning because I haven't turned on CNN or MSNBC for the details. My guess, however, is that his decision may affect the feeding frenzy of this story.
We'll either get to see more endless hours of repetitive video clips showing Terri Shiavo's unfortunate state, recorded nearly five years ago. Or, maybe the media will rush to a new, more compelling story like the school shootout in Minnesota and let this poor lady die in peace. It would be nice to not have to see another invasive clip of that feeding tube plugged into her stomach.
I have a friend who has lived on a feeding tube because of strokes which totally devastated her once witty, brilliant brain. She cannot swallow. She's been EXISTING because of this tube for more than a year.
I have to admit that I cannot go visit her anymore. I feel guilt because of this, but I also remember her pride and sensitivity. I wonder how she'd feel, knowing that her closest friends come and view her in such a pitiful state. Having known her well for more than 30 years, I'd say she'd be horrified.
I miss my friend. I miss our daily phone conversations and her usual humorous take on the crazy local happenings. The person I knew is gone. She sits or lies in that care center with a sad, blank expression, fondling her stuffed animals, passing the minutes, hours, days, months and now years in a completely different world.
Her estate, which will run out in a couple of years, pays for her care. I don't know if she had a living will. She had no close relatives, so it's possible the feeding tube was inserted without consultation from anyone. The feeding tube will remain for who knows how long.
I can't help but think that she would have preferred a peaceful, quiet death long ago to the empty world she wakes up and faces each day. Fortunate for her, however, the media hasn't zeroed in on her plight like they've done so disgustingly in Florida.
What ever happened to respect for one's dignity? Dying, I'm sure, is hard enough without having the entire outside world getting a free pass via the boob tube to watch a person suffer.
3 comments:
Heartfelt & thoughtful opinion, as usual. I don't want to be kept alive in a similar fashion. It's not living, it's existing, and in a way almost defying God's apparent wishes. I pray that God gives her family the comfort they need to get through this, and that a resolution comes soon. She doesn't deserve this.
I hadn't heard that the videos we see all over tv are from 5 yrs. ago. Probably a lot we don't know, which is why its best left to the family and the courts, which I think have been pretty definitive in their rulings.
Very thoughtful words, Marianne, and so true. Having work 17+ years at the older place of the two.. I watched as they kept a woman who had a stroke alive for 5 years, the family stop coming after the first year as they couldn't take it anymore. The first tube rotted out, yet they replaced it.. Finally some common sense came to everyone when the second one went. The family and doctors agreed and it was not replaced. I have a living will. Ever since they came out. After working there, you know what the possiblities are. I have in two inch letters.. NO TUBE FEEDING..This living will kicks in only after you can no longer talk, motion, your thoughts. Our prayers are with the family to get thru this... but most of all for Terri.
Marianne...I read your heartbreaking post about your friend. Please go and see her; even tho it'll be rough for you, maybe, if even for a few minutes, your friend can mentally return to happier times. I think it would mean a lot to her. And, in the long run, it will mean a lot to you, that you did something nice to her before she died. I felt the same way when I saw my Mom for the last time before she died. I'm glad I spent the time with her.
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