About the morning you wake up and find you're not there...
Old joke:
Q. Do you know how to make the gods laugh?
A. Tell them your plans.
If you're religious, or even superstitious, making plans seems like a good way to ensure those plans will go horribly awry. But what if, by not making your wishes and your plans clear, things go even more horribly awry, not just for you, but for everyone you love -- and you are helpless to do anything about it?
At this time last week, I was alternating between hurling the entire contents of my digestive system into the toilet and snatching a few minutes of sleep to rest up for the next bout of hurling. It was during one of those rest periods that Johnny Trash called to check on me. I answered the phone with, "If you loved me at all, you'd come home and put me out of my misery." Now, anyone who knows me even a little is quite aware that even in the heart of misery, I will still be making wise and cracking jokes. I like to think that Johnny Trash knows me particularly well and so, I was confident that he would not actually come home and kill me.
This morning, I woke up to near non-stop coverage of the necrophiliac side show down in Florida. Little Wolfie and friends credulously and breathlessly bringing us the very latest in the Terri Schiavo case, stripping away all context and complexity in the process. How many times will I have to see those heavily edited video clips of Terri today?Those who felt she was not in a persistent vegetative state placed great emphasis upon her interaction with her mother during Dr. Maxfield's examination and the tracking of a balloon. Those who felt that she was in a persistent vegetative state felt that her actions were neither consistent nor reproducible but rather were random reflexes in response to stimuli. However, the court has not and will not make its decision or a simple head count but will instead consider all factors.
At first blush, the video of Terry Schiavo appearing to smile and look lovingly at her mother seemed to represent cognition. This was also true for how she followed the Mickey Mouse balloon held by her father. The court has carefully viewed the videotapes as requested by counsel and does find that these actions were neither consistent nor reproducible. For instance, Terry Schiavo appeared to have the same look on her face when Dr. Cranford rubbed her neck. Dr. Greer testified she had a smile during his (non-videoed) examination. Also, Mr. Schlinder tried several more times to have her eyes follow the Mickey Mouse balloon but without success. Also, she clearly does not consistently respond to her mother. The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive function would manifest itself in a constant response to stimuli.
Dr. Hammesfahr testified that he felt that he was able to get Terry Schiavo to reproduce repeatedly to his commands. However, by the court's count, he gave 105 commands to Terry Schiavo and, at his direction, Mrs. Schindler gave an additional 6 commands. Again, by the court's count, he asked her 61 questions and Mrs. Schindler, at his direction, asked her an additional 11 questions. The court saw few actions that could be considered responsive to either those commands or those questions. The videographer focused on her hands when Dr. Hammesfahr was asking her to squeeze. While Dr. Hammesfahr testified that she squeezed his finger on command, the video would not appear to support that and his reaction on the video likewise would not appear to support that testimony.
This poor woman has been in a persistent vegetative state for 14 years. For seven of those years, her parents have been fighting her husband over the removal of her feeding tube. Terri's husband Michael who, and this is a very important part of my point here, became her legal guardian once she was incapacitated, asked a court to determine the proper course of care for Terri.Michael Schiavo did not make the decision to discontinue life-prolonging measures for Terri.
As Terri's husband, Michael has been her guardian and her surrogate decision-maker. By 1998, though -- eight years after the trauma that produced Terri's situation -- Michael and Terri's parents disagreed over the proper course for her.
Rather than make the decision himself, Michael followed a procedure permitted by Florida courts by which a surrogate such as Michael can petition a court, asking the court to act as the ward's surrogate and determine what the ward would decide to do. Michael did this, and based on statements Terri made to him and others, he took the position that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures. The Schindlers took the position that Terri would continue life-prolonging measures. Under this procedure, the trial court becomes the surrogate decision-maker, and that is what happened in this case.
The trial court in this case held a trial on the dispute. Both sides were given opportunities to present their views and the evidence supporting those views. Afterwards, the trial court determined that, even applying the "clear and convincing evidence" standard -- the highest burden of proof used in civil cases -- the evidence showed that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.
This case is tragic whatever way you look at it. Michael Schiavo wasn't the only person in Terri's life to testify that his wife would not have wanted to go on like this. Her parents are holding out hope on the basis of some seriously crackpot medical opinions. The woman's cerebral cortex is liquid. There's no coming back from that. None. As someone in the comments over at Alas, A Blog said:Taking away the right of a husband to make a decision for his wife does more to undermine traditional marriage than gays ever could.
That said, I’ll make a few other points.
In every instance (if I’m not mistaken) where this case has gone before a judge who has seen ALL of the evidence, Michael Schiavo has prevailed.
Unless you believe the latest stories coming from her parents, Terri Schiavo had an eating disorder. Eating disorders are all about control. In that context, I shudder to think how she would feel about her situation today.
I can only pray that if I were in Terri’s position, my husband would care enough about me to allow me to die. Michael Schiavo has absolutely no reason to continue this fight except that he thinks he’s doing the right thing for Terri. He could turn over her care to her parents today, move away and be done with her if he were not concerned with carrying out her wishes. (For those who want to argue that he wants the malpractice settlement, you obviously don’t know how much nursing care costs).
And that's the thing that has been bothering me all along about this case (besides the fact that all this attention being paid to it by fucking CONGRESS et. al. is yet another BIG DISTRACTION TACTIC), is that her husband, the person who she chose to love and marry, who followed all of the procedural rules and made a choice for her when it became clear that there was no hope and no way she could ask it for herself, her husband has been demonized and blocked every step of the way.
Until I have a living will in place, it is absolutely possible that this could happen to Johnny Trash and me. The dude and I talk about lots of things, like is it still possible to enjoy Elia Kazan's films even though he named names for HUAC? Or, the worldwide conspiracy to cover up the fact that the platypus is more deadly than the great white shark. Or, why are our cats broken? Or, as Johnny Trash said this morning in reaction to the morning news: "Oh for fuck's sake. You have my permission to wheel me out the the forest and let the wolves and cougars and bears have at me."
We've talked about death and what we would like done with our remains. We've talked about what the other should do if one of us ends up on life support. I've talked about it with My Awesome Dad, I've talked about it with seriouspenguin. All of these people know that I would not want to "live" in a persistent vegetative state. But...
My mother.
My mother will fight them. She will fight them against my previous and oft-stated wishes (to her even), she will bring the full force of her newly re-discovered Born Again ethos to bear on a tragic situation and will make it even worse for all involved.
Fourteen years ago, when Jerome was killed, we were fortunate that his estranged family agreed with the decision to discontinue life support. I do not believe that the same can be said for Johnny Trash's estranged family.
You might not want to tell the gods your plans, but you'd better damn well write shit down so other people know your mind.
I'll let the Rude Pundithave the last word on this one:But we are not a merciful nation, for we believe that suffering is a gift from God or some such bullshit, and if you are chosen to suffer, then suffer you must. If you're dirt poor, single, and homeless and you get pregnant, you must keep your baby, even though the overwhelming chance is that you and your baby will be hungry, cold, and miserable for the rest of both of your lives. Despite the fact that virtually every competent medical person who has walked into Schiavo's room and smelled the shit-scent of death has declared Schiavo a cabbage or, on a good day, a pea pod, the right smells opportunity to distract people from the gutting of programs that actually do good for the living . Other "experts" who have witnessed Schiavo's eyes follow a balloon on videotape are nonsensical idiots (and that includes Senate Majority Leader and noted cat-disemboweler Bill Frist).
Way back in 2000, before Schiavo became the rallying call for people who have nothing better to do, here is how the St. Petersburg Times described Schiavo's end: "If [the feeding tube] is removed, Mrs. Schiavo would die painlessly in a week or two. She does not feel hunger or thirst, and she would just drift away, doctors say." That fact, that Schiavo will not actually experience anything differently, is now left out of most media stories on her. The distorted face of Terry Schiavo is now merely a canvas upon which ideology has been writ large, where the notion of "life" has been perverted to mean "a heartbeat," and where the cruel vicissitudes of politics now rear their ugly, hydra-heads.
Q. Do you know how to make the gods laugh?
A. Tell them your plans.
If you're religious, or even superstitious, making plans seems like a good way to ensure those plans will go horribly awry. But what if, by not making your wishes and your plans clear, things go even more horribly awry, not just for you, but for everyone you love -- and you are helpless to do anything about it?
At this time last week, I was alternating between hurling the entire contents of my digestive system into the toilet and snatching a few minutes of sleep to rest up for the next bout of hurling. It was during one of those rest periods that Johnny Trash called to check on me. I answered the phone with, "If you loved me at all, you'd come home and put me out of my misery." Now, anyone who knows me even a little is quite aware that even in the heart of misery, I will still be making wise and cracking jokes. I like to think that Johnny Trash knows me particularly well and so, I was confident that he would not actually come home and kill me.
This morning, I woke up to near non-stop coverage of the necrophiliac side show down in Florida. Little Wolfie and friends credulously and breathlessly bringing us the very latest in the Terri Schiavo case, stripping away all context and complexity in the process. How many times will I have to see those heavily edited video clips of Terri today?Those who felt she was not in a persistent vegetative state placed great emphasis upon her interaction with her mother during Dr. Maxfield's examination and the tracking of a balloon. Those who felt that she was in a persistent vegetative state felt that her actions were neither consistent nor reproducible but rather were random reflexes in response to stimuli. However, the court has not and will not make its decision or a simple head count but will instead consider all factors.
At first blush, the video of Terry Schiavo appearing to smile and look lovingly at her mother seemed to represent cognition. This was also true for how she followed the Mickey Mouse balloon held by her father. The court has carefully viewed the videotapes as requested by counsel and does find that these actions were neither consistent nor reproducible. For instance, Terry Schiavo appeared to have the same look on her face when Dr. Cranford rubbed her neck. Dr. Greer testified she had a smile during his (non-videoed) examination. Also, Mr. Schlinder tried several more times to have her eyes follow the Mickey Mouse balloon but without success. Also, she clearly does not consistently respond to her mother. The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive function would manifest itself in a constant response to stimuli.
Dr. Hammesfahr testified that he felt that he was able to get Terry Schiavo to reproduce repeatedly to his commands. However, by the court's count, he gave 105 commands to Terry Schiavo and, at his direction, Mrs. Schindler gave an additional 6 commands. Again, by the court's count, he asked her 61 questions and Mrs. Schindler, at his direction, asked her an additional 11 questions. The court saw few actions that could be considered responsive to either those commands or those questions. The videographer focused on her hands when Dr. Hammesfahr was asking her to squeeze. While Dr. Hammesfahr testified that she squeezed his finger on command, the video would not appear to support that and his reaction on the video likewise would not appear to support that testimony.
This poor woman has been in a persistent vegetative state for 14 years. For seven of those years, her parents have been fighting her husband over the removal of her feeding tube. Terri's husband Michael who, and this is a very important part of my point here, became her legal guardian once she was incapacitated, asked a court to determine the proper course of care for Terri.Michael Schiavo did not make the decision to discontinue life-prolonging measures for Terri.
As Terri's husband, Michael has been her guardian and her surrogate decision-maker. By 1998, though -- eight years after the trauma that produced Terri's situation -- Michael and Terri's parents disagreed over the proper course for her.
Rather than make the decision himself, Michael followed a procedure permitted by Florida courts by which a surrogate such as Michael can petition a court, asking the court to act as the ward's surrogate and determine what the ward would decide to do. Michael did this, and based on statements Terri made to him and others, he took the position that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures. The Schindlers took the position that Terri would continue life-prolonging measures. Under this procedure, the trial court becomes the surrogate decision-maker, and that is what happened in this case.
The trial court in this case held a trial on the dispute. Both sides were given opportunities to present their views and the evidence supporting those views. Afterwards, the trial court determined that, even applying the "clear and convincing evidence" standard -- the highest burden of proof used in civil cases -- the evidence showed that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.
This case is tragic whatever way you look at it. Michael Schiavo wasn't the only person in Terri's life to testify that his wife would not have wanted to go on like this. Her parents are holding out hope on the basis of some seriously crackpot medical opinions. The woman's cerebral cortex is liquid. There's no coming back from that. None. As someone in the comments over at Alas, A Blog said:Taking away the right of a husband to make a decision for his wife does more to undermine traditional marriage than gays ever could.
That said, I’ll make a few other points.
In every instance (if I’m not mistaken) where this case has gone before a judge who has seen ALL of the evidence, Michael Schiavo has prevailed.
Unless you believe the latest stories coming from her parents, Terri Schiavo had an eating disorder. Eating disorders are all about control. In that context, I shudder to think how she would feel about her situation today.
I can only pray that if I were in Terri’s position, my husband would care enough about me to allow me to die. Michael Schiavo has absolutely no reason to continue this fight except that he thinks he’s doing the right thing for Terri. He could turn over her care to her parents today, move away and be done with her if he were not concerned with carrying out her wishes. (For those who want to argue that he wants the malpractice settlement, you obviously don’t know how much nursing care costs).
And that's the thing that has been bothering me all along about this case (besides the fact that all this attention being paid to it by fucking CONGRESS et. al. is yet another BIG DISTRACTION TACTIC), is that her husband, the person who she chose to love and marry, who followed all of the procedural rules and made a choice for her when it became clear that there was no hope and no way she could ask it for herself, her husband has been demonized and blocked every step of the way.
Until I have a living will in place, it is absolutely possible that this could happen to Johnny Trash and me. The dude and I talk about lots of things, like is it still possible to enjoy Elia Kazan's films even though he named names for HUAC? Or, the worldwide conspiracy to cover up the fact that the platypus is more deadly than the great white shark. Or, why are our cats broken? Or, as Johnny Trash said this morning in reaction to the morning news: "Oh for fuck's sake. You have my permission to wheel me out the the forest and let the wolves and cougars and bears have at me."
We've talked about death and what we would like done with our remains. We've talked about what the other should do if one of us ends up on life support. I've talked about it with My Awesome Dad, I've talked about it with seriouspenguin. All of these people know that I would not want to "live" in a persistent vegetative state. But...
My mother.
My mother will fight them. She will fight them against my previous and oft-stated wishes (to her even), she will bring the full force of her newly re-discovered Born Again ethos to bear on a tragic situation and will make it even worse for all involved.
Fourteen years ago, when Jerome was killed, we were fortunate that his estranged family agreed with the decision to discontinue life support. I do not believe that the same can be said for Johnny Trash's estranged family.
You might not want to tell the gods your plans, but you'd better damn well write shit down so other people know your mind.
I'll let the Rude Pundithave the last word on this one:But we are not a merciful nation, for we believe that suffering is a gift from God or some such bullshit, and if you are chosen to suffer, then suffer you must. If you're dirt poor, single, and homeless and you get pregnant, you must keep your baby, even though the overwhelming chance is that you and your baby will be hungry, cold, and miserable for the rest of both of your lives. Despite the fact that virtually every competent medical person who has walked into Schiavo's room and smelled the shit-scent of death has declared Schiavo a cabbage or, on a good day, a pea pod, the right smells opportunity to distract people from the gutting of programs that actually do good for the living . Other "experts" who have witnessed Schiavo's eyes follow a balloon on videotape are nonsensical idiots (and that includes Senate Majority Leader and noted cat-disemboweler Bill Frist).
Way back in 2000, before Schiavo became the rallying call for people who have nothing better to do, here is how the St. Petersburg Times described Schiavo's end: "If [the feeding tube] is removed, Mrs. Schiavo would die painlessly in a week or two. She does not feel hunger or thirst, and she would just drift away, doctors say." That fact, that Schiavo will not actually experience anything differently, is now left out of most media stories on her. The distorted face of Terry Schiavo is now merely a canvas upon which ideology has been writ large, where the notion of "life" has been perverted to mean "a heartbeat," and where the cruel vicissitudes of politics now rear their ugly, hydra-heads.