posted on Dec, 20 2005 @ 09:12 PM
Originally posted by MattMarriottToday, if you are retired and you are are supposed to stay some days in a hospital in most of those
"top ten" countries, the number of DAYS you might still expect to live depends on how much interest your husband, wife, children or tutor will show
in keeping you alive.
In the worst case - no interest, early retired - your LIFE EXPECTANCY is now well below ONE
WEEK.
[edit on 20-12-2005 by MattMarriott]
I have to ask "and this changed on Good Friday ... how?"
You seem to be unaware of these cases beyond the Terri Schivo one, but I assure you they did exist before Terri's case ever came to national
attention. And while you storm about her treatment and it "dramatically affecting life" I should point out two things, if I may:
1. That most people do not and will not fall into a persistant vegitative state for more than a decade (exceptions might be extreme brain injury or
advanced Alzheimers.)
2. In earlier times (a century ago and more) these people were put into insane asylums and died quickly from disease and neglect. There was no such
thing as a "persistant vegitative state" lasting more than a year.
3. While I sympathize with her parents, I also took care of a woman who was in the same condition some 35 years ago. She was in that state for only
6 years before she died... not 10. If anything, our care of these people is better and partial rehabilitation for some of them is possible. It
wasn't back then.
Perhaps if you worked in a nursing home (as I did) you might get a broader perspective of these things.