David T. Music And Stuff

Hello family and friends,

Here’s another example of dad’s willingness to throw his hat into the controversy ring. In the story intro, dad asks would we mind if he comments about a controversial subject, then jumps right in . . . He even drops an off-color joke into the story . . .

That’s my dad . . .

Some of us will remember this case. It went on for years and caused many arguments between well-meaning people and, of course, as with any controversial subject, persons who don’t bother to look up the facts or have preconceived ideas or beliefs that don’t allow for factual information to be understood.

It was a relief to much of the world as well as Terri’s husband when he was allowed to finally withdraw her life-support. I’m pretty sure it would have been a relief to Terri had her brain not already been deceased years before . . . There! I said it!

I hope you enjoy this story and maybe start a conversation about the events we call life and death with your friends and loved ones.

Remember you can write comments at the end of the story. Go ahead and write what you think . . . It’s called “Having A Conversation” . . .

Love to all,

David T

p.s. Comments are very much appreciated.You can write comments below each story.

p.p.s. Today is my daughter Nicole’s wedding shower.. The wedding is June 30th [correction]. I am so happy for her. And her fiancé, Jeremy is an awesome man who will fill her life with happiness and love, I’m sure. 

 

 

“Terri’s Life and Death”

By Don Tschirhart

Excerpted from the unpublished book “It’s a Wonderful World II: A Retired Reporter Looks At Life“

 

Terri’s Life and Death

Do you mind my putting my two cents worth into the life and death struggle

of Terri Schiavo?

The issue isn’t new and I doubt the debate will ever end. Unfortunately, Terri’s life and death has turned into a media circus.

We, the people, can’t seem to figure out (1) The meaning of death, and (2) When are we alive or dead.

In Terri’s case, she was in a vegetable-state for 15 years after an illness damaged her brain. Her brain wave apparently was still wavy and she breathed until the feeding tube was removed. But doctors insist she had no sense of her surroundings – see, feel, pain, hear or think.

Her life depended on a food tube inserted into her stomach. She obviously was able to digest the food and excrete it naturally.

So what’s the argument?

Terri’s husband tried for a decade and a half to have doctors take the tube out and allow her to starve and dehydrate until death.

Her family says he was motivated by a large insurance settlement and to be married to the woman he’s been living with for years.

That may be true, but what he has said — that Terri voiced before her illness that she never wanted to live in a lengthy coma — may also be true. There was nothing written.

Terri’s family says they do not want their daughter “executed” just because she is sick. We’re expected to take their word that Terri smiles at jokes and indicates in other ways that she knows what’s going on. In a highly emotional state loved ones sometimes read into a coma patient’s reflex movements what they want.

America, being a mostly moral country, asks the question what should be done.

If we were in The Netherlands, the answer would be simple — pull the plug. That’s what they do to elderly or handicapped persons despite their written wishes to free up hospitals and nursing home space. I wonder if the lethal shot is called “Dutch Treat.”

Those who have taken up sides have surprised me. Liberals, who consistently side with government intervention in most everything said government and courts should have kept their mitts off.

Conservatives, however, who have consistently backed states rights and want courts to stop being politically active, had a conservative president and Congress try to make decisions that should have been left up to local courts and family.

Religions seem to have taken expected sides in the issue. Many faiths, especially those who oppose abortion and any measure to end death before God’s time including my own Catholic faith, said the food tubes should not have been pulled. Polls show most people feel the food tubes should have been pulled years ago.

If it were a case of breathing tubes keeping Terri alive and her brain waves were flat, there would be no question the tubes would have been shut down.

Some years ago a teenage boy in Kalamazoo was in a coma for 18 months suffering from equine encephalitis. It nearly bankrupted his farm parents and a fortune was spent by the state before his brain waves flattened and tubes were pulled.

Families across the nation are often faced with similar problems. Emotionally distraught moms and dads and children must decide whether to stop giving air or food to loved ones. Sometimes this becomes a lasting family dispute.

In Terri’s case, a radio commentator said one of her parent’s attorneys told him Terri, who was Catholic, would go to hell because pulling the tube amounts to suicide condemning her automatically to Hades.

That’s how little he knows about Catholic beliefs which say there is no need to use heroic means to keep someone alive. We let God decide the big question — whether Terri will enter heaven or hell.

The question then becomes: Does food and liquid constitute heroic means?

For 15 years doctors have tried heroically to breathe life into a body they believe is dead. I probably will get in trouble with conservative thinkers, even some of my fellow Catholics, but I believe enough is enough.

I know there have been cases of persons in a coma for years waking up. But doctors assured the parents and husband that Terri Schiavo’s brain was mush. An autopsy isn’t expected to show anything different.

I lost a beloved son and know how hard it is to let go. It’s time for Terri’s parents to “let go,” promising they’ll meet again when they also walk through Heaven’s Gate.

Don Tschirhart