Terri Schiavo - The Real Story

LarryC · April 2005

If you know the real story, the real truth of the matter, please post here. In other words, if you have been involved intimately with the situation for the past 15+ years and were closely involved in the events leading up to Terri's condition, then your opinion will be valued here. I would take time to listen to what you have to say rather than an opinion formed and fed from sensational media and cheap journalism.

Anyone?

Don D · April 2005

Perhaps you might post what it is that's been said that you don't believe. I doubt many family members are cruising the Forum.

National Guard · April 2005

Well, we are going through it presently. Not as long only been about 4 months now. We have a St. Bernard who is 11 and 1/2 years old. He can't get around very well at all. His hind legs and hips are deteriorating and they kind of blow out on him while he is walking. He can not longer make it up the steps to our deck in our back yard so every time we let him back inside the house we have to bring him in the front where there are only three steps. He should weigh over a 100lbs. but he barely caries 90lbs on him right now. The vet told us we have to make that quality of life decision versus putting him to sleep soon or another option of spending a lot of money on pills that will keep him active. So, far my husband will not spend the money on the medication.

But on a little more serious note. I have read some news articles about those family members who are going through the same thing. The common thread seems to be resentment at the media and demonstrators. They all fell it is a personal decision that should not be scutinized by the general public!!!

Whatever · April 2005

I believe this is one of the most tragic stories ever. Even in death, both sides are still fighting over Terri Schiavo. The one thing that is clear is that Terri Schiavo would have been horrified at what is happening between the people she most loved.

deniseE · April 2005

Natl. Guard...we're in the same boat!!! Ours is a 12 year old Sheltie, that is the size of a full collie....she has dysplasia and colitis, so the medications that could help her hips make her digestive problems worse (read: Giant mess on the floor!)

Jayne can't make it into the house anymore...we built a ramp for her...but walking is so hard that she'll only go out once a day anymore...It's just very sad...we're struggling to make sure that when we make this choice it's to benefit her, not because it's more convenient for us.

It sounds like it might be past helping...but, we were able to help Jayne for a number of years by adding some knox gelatine to her canned food. The vet suggested this because she couldn't take the medications...my mother-in-law also uses it to treat her osteoperosis...

lhill · April 2005

No, LarryC. I was not there since Terri had a heart attack in 1990 (at least that is what the media said). However, there are a lot of things that have happened that I was not an eye witness to. We make our opinions on the information we have available. Otherwise, we could have an opinion about nothing but our own lives. So, while I disagree with you, I respect your right to have an opinion that we shouldn't have (or voice) an opinion.

LarryC · April 2005

I rest my case.

HCCADC · April 2005

I went through this in 2000. I had Snowball for 17 years. We first gave him medicine and finally it didn't work either. I took him to put him down and backed out and couldn't do it. I waited a week and the poor little guy would cry constantly due to the pain, so finally I knew I had waited too long. I kept praying that he would die in his sleep but the vet told me that his heart was strong. He was my baby. It was very hard to do, but I know that I did the right thing. I couldn't let him suffer any longer.

Don D · April 2005

5 years ago our 14 year old dog started to stumble and fall and developed kidney problems and other infirmities. I took him to the vet and he had stayed there about a week and the report was that he would not improve. The vet said she could send him back home but he would be miserable and couldn't get better and would eventually shut down all systems. I struggled with it and eventually told her to put him to sleep. I took off a day from work, dug a grave and did a multitude of things that remain private. When I picked him up, they had brushed his hair and laid him on the pillow in the box I provided and he looked as beautiful as he had ever looked in his life. I'm not ashamed to say I cried. I buried him, made a flower garden shrine out of his grave with a granite tablet 3x5 on top and on top of that is a stone dog that looks like him. It's been over 5 years and I still talk to him when I go out back on Friday night and drink a beer. I still wonder if I made the right decision.

Dasher · April 2005

Of all of your 9000+ posts, this one touched me the most. It shows a compassionate realist, which is what I strive to be.

HCCADC · April 2005

Don,
i bawled like a baby, and I am not ashamed either. He was my best friend for a very long time and I loved him like he was my child. I wrapped mine in his favorite blanket and buried him under a tree. It is a difficult thing to do and if I have to do it again, I will dread it. (We now have 2 dogs that are just as spoiled). Thanks for sharing.

slogan · April 2005

LarryC,

There is a website you can visit. It is [url]www.terrisfight.org[/url].

JudyT929 · April 2005

I made the decision to put my 17 yr old Cat to sleep last October, was a tough decision, and I stayed with her, petting her and crying, while she left this world, so I know the pain of saying goodbye to a dear friend. But what amazes me is it sounds like some of you are comparing putting a family pet to sleep to pulling the plug on a human...it isn't the same.

HRLASS · April 2005

I don't know Terri's full story. But I know or am familiar with three others.
Karen Quinlan - her case never went beyond the courts in New Jersey. She was in a Catholic hospital and when the courts finally gave the parents permission to pull the plug on the respirator, they discovered that the nuns in the Catholic hospital who disagreed with Karen's parents had discretely weaned her off of it without the parents' knowledge. She lived in a coma for 10 years.
Nancy Cruzan (Missouri) - her case went to the Supreme Court and there was a book written by the attorney with the family that goes through all the family went through - from before her accident through after her death - and the actual process of her death after the feeding tube was removed. (It's excellent and I believe it's called The Last Goodbye, published within the last two years.)
My grandmother - her case did not go to any court. At age 97 after all her friends, her husband and her twin sister had died, one day she stopped eating. She weighed only about 67 pounds and she was tired of living; she wanted to die. The nursing home asked us if they could start force feeding her and my mother (her daughter) said absolutely not. My parents and the nurses stayed with her, gave her water and made her comfortable and she died in about 3 days, at peace.
I've done years of research on euthanasia, mercy killing and assisted suicide, here and in Europe. With my research, friends and friends of friends have told me their own stories with their own families. The cases are all sad, but they happen all the time. The best lesson is to prepare so it doesn't happen to you or your family.

Terri Schiavo - The Real Story

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