Ever wonder how you’re going to spend your final days on earth? What if you had the opportunity to plan out your very own perfect passing? Now, what if you had absolutely no choice? One thing that I’m certain of is that the day when I get to use my E-ZPass and head toward the white light at the end of the tunnel, and I don’t mean the Midtown, I’d like to know I left this place with dignity.. What if we celebrated the choice to die surrounded by the people we love , heck why not throw a huge party and remember all the good times, pop open that bottle of champagne and toast to a great life and even better afterlife where the party never stops!



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For the most part, we as humans have the opportunity to pick certain paths we want our lives to head towards. Lifelong partners, friends, family (the ones we can tolerate, of course), which pair of socks we want to wear in the morning, and what car we drive, are all things we have the natural born right to include in our daily life decisions. On the other hand, cancer, disease, and illness, whether acquired or born with, are not things we look forward to living with. Imagine if you were born or diagnosed with a terminal illness that promised nothing but agony and intractable pain every waking moment of your life. If the opportunity was presented, would you choose to leave this world on your own time or let it be taken from you without warning; it’d be so sudden that you may never get to say those final words to your loved ones or look into their eyes and smile one last time.



Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide pose a threat to our modern-day society and the legalization of this practice has been a topic of debate for years. For some reason, people have an issue with the ultimate liberty and the right to die in a strategically planned setting. What if that terminal patient was promised certainty, . . . a promise that they wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, their loved ones wouldn’t see them in a state of constant emotional and physical distress, or possibly avoiding it all and choosing death sooner than later and never experiencing the deterioration of their life?



This blog wasn’t put together with the intention to offend any kind of higher power that could be believed to bring us into this world and take us out, but rather to surface the question: In the state of a grueling medical condition or birth disability, if given the right, would you choose when you wanted to die with the assistance of a trained medical professional?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Terri Schiavo

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Terri Schiavo, a 26 year old woman was admitted to a Florida hospital in 1990 because she collapsed at home and was not breathing for several minutes. Some suggest foul play while others are blaming it on an eating disorder Bulimia, that caused a potassium imbalance.
Soon after admission she was diagnosed with brain damage, although she was able to maintain her own blood pressure and heart rate Terri's power line to life was based on tube feedings
Terri never filled out a DNR/ DNI but it was said to be believed that a year before her accident Terri had made comments to family stating that she would never want to be kept alive with any form of life support.
-In the state of Florida oral expressions are just as legal as signed legal documents.
An on going battle that lasted 15 years would either result in 3 ways, 1) Terri's parents would win and she would keep the tube feeding in place, 2) Terri's husband would win and the tube feeding would be disconnected because " she would be angry if she knew she was living like that", and 3) Terri's body would give up on its own.
Through out this case it seems that every 3 days her tub feeding was disconnected by court order then appealed and reconnected. ( must admit not to crazy about this)
Michael Schiavo(husband) told WND: "I see a shell of somebody I used to know. Somebody I loved and adored very much. And now she's a shell. ... She's existing. That's not life."
- a very power statement.. and i agree with it. A person maybe be able to breathe on their own, maintain a heart beat blood pressure and maybe even an occasional facial gesture here and there, but the interaction, communication isn’t there any more just mind full of pictures and memories to remind you of what they were like.
In 2005 after a final tube feeding removal Terri Passed away. Unfortunately the only person who could really give us a clear answer and what should really be done was Terri.. This could have ended 15 years ago instead of an on going battle between the two families
 ( Terri in 1999)
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