Terri Schaivo died this morning after fifteen years of lying almost
motionless in a bed. She was loved more than most and a nation
wanted her to keep living.
What did she want?
This simple question may haunt us for years and years to come.
Would a twenty six year old person think about what they want if
they had to choose the quality of life after a catastrophic illness? I
think the answer is no in most cases.
Seeing a person on a respirator is disturbing but it is used more
and more to try to stabilize a person after surgery and to give a
person a better chance of living after they have had a problem
breathing and getting enough oxygen. Terri was on a respirator at
first but had not been on one for many years. She breathed on her
own.
Terri had a feeding tube that was inserted through her navel
straight into her stomach. She was fed a liquid diet of a highly
nutritious substance much like baby formula but strong enough
for an adult. She was also given water in this manner.
A feeding tube inserted in this manner is considered to be of a
permanent nature. If a feeding tube is inserted through a nostril
and into the stomach it is temporary, such as the one inserted
through the Pope's nostril earlier today.
A feeding tube through a nostril is very uncomfortable and not
many people would like one in their nose. It is in caregivers way
and can be accidentally pulled out. A permanent feeding tube was
best for Terri.
Is this "life support"? Not to me, not in the basic sense. It was
helping keep her alive like food and water keeps us alive.
Was she aware? She seemed to be at times, especially when her
mother was speaking to her. I believe her soul was speaking to us.
She was still a living human being who had fought to live for
fifteen years.
Where there is life, there is hope. I am sure you have heard this
phrase many times before. Terri was alive. Her mother, Mary, gave
her life and wanted to keep nurturing her for the rest of her life but
was not given the chance.
A hospice is for the dying. People go to one to die. Terri was in
one for five years. Death was all around her but she kept living.
I wanted her to keep living. No one can say with certainty how
much she was aware of and not aware of. People have lived
normal lives with as much loss of brain tissue as she had
suffered. I also knew it may be her time to go. Those who loved
her fought to keep her alive for as long as they possibly could and
still the courts decided Terri wanted to die and so she did.
Have we heard the end of this? No!
The US government got involved. The Right to Die people became
involved. The Right to Life people became involved.
I believe some good will come from all of this as good is often
spawned from bad. Her life had a purpose and I believe she
served it.
Is she in a better place? Yes! She is walking and talking, laughing
and smiling once again. Her soul is freed from its earthly bonds
and she is whole once again.
Lavenia Ann Claman
March 31, 2005
