Opinion -- Terri Schiavo

2005-03-23 - 10:13 p.m.

I'm sure everyone has heard the story of Terri Schiavo by now.

The US Senate passed legislation that congressional leaders hope will keep alive the heavily brain-damaged Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, who has been fed artificially for 15 years. Her husband wanted it removed.

Now Governor Jeb Bush wants to take custody of Schiavo, in a last-ditched attempt to get her feeding tube reinserted.

I'm a little sickened by this news story for many reasons, but I'm even more sickened that President Bush and his minions are jumping on the bandwagon. Brin-Marie McLaughlin said it best. "Death is not political or religious, it's plain old science."

"Why prolong it?"

Years ago when I worked in a nursing home, I was basically told by my supervisors to 'force feed' a badly-crippled/brain-damaged resident. He would literally push the food and drink back out of him mouth with his tongue. He didn't want it. It doesn't take a genius to know what he was trying to communicate without words. He wanted to die.

One of the nurses walked in and witnessed my feeding technique. I would push the food toward the back of his mouth, and go around the tongue, thus making him have to swallow the unwanted nourishment. In a kind voice, the nurse looked at me and gently stopped my hand from inserting any more food into his mouth. She looked in my eyes, and said, "Why prolong it?" I was never assigned to assist him with eating again, after that. The aforementioned nurse took over.

It was at that moment I realized that I had been playing the villain with this man. I was basically forcing him to live against his wishes. He died about a month later; very peacefully in his sleep.

Dehydrating patients sounds like a harsh thing, but it has been practiced for ages. Dehydration increases pain tolerance, and helps the mind relax. When people die from dehydration -- they die without pain, and in comfort. You can contact any good medical book or website for this information.

In the case of Terri Schiavo, I don't know what to say. Maybe her husband is out for money, but there's always another side to a story.

Fifteen years, folks. Fifteen years with inevitable skin breakdown, lack of verbal communication from the patient, and no way of communicating one's desires for the future. Her husband was given that right to speak for her when the rings were exchanged. That's just plain fact.

If I am EVER in that situation for even a year -- and EVEN if I get well after that year, I am going to be pissed if someone didn't let me go in my vegetative state. If my chances are enough that I will never recuperate, somebody had BETTER pull that plug.

Brin and I agree on one particular thing. Stop making death such a religious and political issue. It's not. Death can be beautiful -- if you can comprehend that. And sometimes, it needs to be helped along. It's not your God that makes these decisions about people's dying moment. It's NOT. Period.

I've seen death more times than I care to mention -- and I'm honored that I got to share some of my favorite people's final moments. Someone who cared for them was here when they arrived, and someone who cared for them was there when they died. To me, life (and death) doesn't get any more beautiful than that.

Dr. Kevorkian is a hero, and he's locked away. Shame. SHAME on the judge who made that ruling.