Would you rather die than be 'the chimp lady'

To me, it would all depend on the other things in my life - mainly my family. I think if anyone were put into this position and were battling it alone - they'd rather give up than stick around. It would take a herculean amount of emotional and mental energy to weather this alone.

Also, I think that if say you were brought up to be a very independent person, or maybe werent particularly close/didnt have any family members around, it would be absolute hell to be put in a position of losing that independence & having no one to turn to during that time.

you know what * pissed * me off when i accidently ended up on that show and saw that interview? oprah, in her symathetic understanding, kept saying "i know you must feel terrible to live with a face like that" or "to live like this" or "to not use your hands" or "to be ugly" uuuughh. oprah, shut the ---- up!

first off, i'm glad the chimp lady is alive, oprah.

second, stop reminding the poor lady that she not only can't see but can't use her hands (except a thumb, oh joy) and that she might be ~ugly~.

third, i don't think she looked bad at all and if she really wants to, she can get a seeing-eye-dog. or chimp. and at least she was born seeing colors and stuff and then became blind; some people don't have that freedom.

plus, the only reason we think she's "ugly" is because we live in a word where we don't praise the loving or intelligent, we put the beautiful on top regardless of their sanity/ what they look like without face paint. i don't think she's as ugly as i expected her to be. oprah can crawl into a hole and die-- oh wait, she can't die because she's the DEVIL.

[edit to add]

rant over.

[edit on 11/12/09 by ohsnaptruth]

reply to post by ohsnaptruth

plus, the only reason we think she's "ugly" is because we live in a word where we don't praise the loving or intelligent, we put the beautiful on top regardless of their sanity/ what they look like without face paint. i don't think she's as ugly as i expected her to be.

you're the only one so far who's seen it this way

it's almost as if people think she should die - because she's not what we expect her to be

almost - not quite

oprah can crawl into a hole and die-- oh wait, she can't die because she's the DEVIL.

I laughed so hard I almost hurt myself

I thought I was the only one who felt this way

:-)

If you asked me right now i would likely say die. If something like that actually happened to me i probably wouldn't think the same way(maybe). I only say this because it is something i have noticed about alot of people who are *normal* who then have serious accidents etc . If you had a list of reasons to live before the accident and after. I no doubt think you will find that the before and after have nothing in common. Things that seemed insignificant or did not even cross their mind before as to what reasons there is to live will be forefront in their will to now. I think having such accidents casts light on the reasons to live that lay dormant in the shadows before. That's basically what im saying!

[edit on 12-11-2009 by Solomons]

Really i thought she looked even worse than i thought she would look... i mean, how much worse can you even get?!?

What ever happened to the guy a few years ago who got attacked by chimps? Remember that guy, he was left even worse than this lady was!

Originally posted by hikix
Really i thought she looked even worse than i thought she would look... i mean, how much worse can you even get?!?

What ever happened to the guy a few years ago who got attacked by chimps? Remember that guy, he was left even worse than this lady was!

Oh yea I remember that vaguely... I thought he still had one of his hands & his mouth was still in tact though

Poor lady....

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2edc0215d681.jpg[/atsimg]

She may be a candidate for experimental reconstructure surgery, and/or expermental eye & facial replacements. She could contribute a great deal towards medical science, and help future victims of this sort. That's worth living for! And who knows - she may end up with bionic eyes in future.

From earlier this year - Bionic eye gives blind man sight

A man who lost his sight 30 years ago says he can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye.

Ron, 73, had the experimental surgery seven months ago at London's Moorfield's eye hospital.

[edit on 12-11-2009 by john124]

Originally posted by Bluebelle

Originally posted by hikix
Really i thought she looked even worse than i thought she would look... i mean, how much worse can you even get?!?

What ever happened to the guy a few years ago who got attacked by chimps? Remember that guy, he was left even worse than this lady was!

Oh yea I remember that vaguely... I thought he still had one of his hands & his mouth was still in tact though

nah, he lost all the fingers on both hands, his entire face and they even bit off his gentials! not a good day for that guy! monkeys are crazy!!

I'd probably rather be dead than as insanely stupid as the owner of the chimpanzee.

reply to post by irishchic

I suspect no amount of reconstructive surgery will make her "whole" again but you know,I had someone very close to me who lost a great deal of their face including an eye to cancer and they went on to live another 10 years that "mattered." Yes,I would want to keep living.

The same as me - my dad lost half his face - jaw, tongue, eye

Watching someone close to you go through it rearranges your priorities and almost completely does away with any vanity

You realize that what's important remains

Most of all - people want to live no matter what

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Yes, I think we would want to live. I hope I would want to. To find a new meaning to my life, on a different level, through different endeavors and not be so weak as to throw in the towel due to severe disfigurement. You like to think you are stronger than that.

But it's something we could never know until it happened. Depression might get the best of me. I'm not sure how strong my will to live would be, but I hope it would remain strong. I would have some self-pity to deal with, I imagine, but then my anxiety about how others would react to me might be stronger than my anxiety towards myself.

reply to post by Soulhacking


I agree with you.
The last year or so of my daddy's life he was blind and deaf.
He loved to read and watch TV.
His hobby, before he went blind was carving Schooner ships. He carved so many details like little sailers, cabins with glass windows, life boats with people in them.
He never sold them . He gave one to each family member and friends.

Before he lost his hearing I would describe the flowers that were blooming and tell him what season it was.

When Daddy lost his hearing and eyesight he gave up and soon afterwards he died.

Everytime I look at the ship he made for me I remember him.

Yes, but not because of appearances. If I hand no hands and no vision ... that's EVERYTHING! I could handle being deaf, legless, no senses of smell, sensation or taste ... but life without sight would be a death sentence to me. My hands are next important to me after sight.

If that lady was my neighbor, I'd be over there reading books to her ... or web searching whatever she wanted and reading that to her ... at least one day a week. Blindness is tragic.

Originally posted by hikix
I would take death over this any day. I am just curious, are there any of you out here that would rather live and be in this condition?

Some people give up easily don't they?

I would choose living and learning, besides, she will be offered facial reconstruction or replacement once all the swelling goes down.

From my perspective, the soul chooses to have these experiences as it sees everything as being valid experience with no value-judgements. In which case, why should we do otherwise?

This thread is reminding me its important for everyone to have a living will made. That is something people never get done and accidents like this are always a possibility for anyone.

If a chimp eats my face and hands, yeaaaah kill me asap, because the dumba$$ chimp didn't commit and finish the job.

My Dad didn't give up easily.

He suffered for 3 yrs with renal failure then the last year of his life he went blind and deaf.

It was his choice to stop the dialysis and treatment.

He died one month later.

I loved him but I feel he made the right decision

Originally posted by Tayesin
Some people give up easily don't they?

no eyes, no nose, no hands... i wouldn't consider that very easy.

Edit: I forgot, she doesn't have a mouth either

[edit on 11/12/2009 by hikix]

I know the responders and doctors were only doing thier jobs, but I`d be mad if they saved my life if i was that far gone. can`t see, smell, taste, touch, I`d be a burden to my loved ones. I`m not afraid of dying. I see death as continueing to the next part of life. so just let me go. If that seems bad or selfish it is what it is.