BS: Parents who watch their kids die

Subject: BS: Parents who watch their kids die
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 08:58 AM

Death is an everyday affair. Why can't Terri Schiavo's parents let her go? From ABC News today:

"There are an estimated 4,000 deaths each day where there's a conscious decision to limit treatment in some way," said Dr. Ron Cranford, professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

"We have an estimated 14,000 to 35,000 adults and kids in a persistent vegetative state every year," he said. "It's a routine thing to discontinue treatment. These decisions are made behind the scenes."

Other estimates place the number of adult patients in PVS in the United States between 15,000 and 25,000. The annual cost of caring for these patients is estimated to be as high as $7 billion.

Dr. Stephen S. Lefrak, professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and chair of the ethics committee at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, confirmed that ending the care of a patient — also known as "terminal wean" — is a decision made daily in most hospitals. "

So the parents of Terri Schiavo are, potentially, hurting the families of all those patients--adults and children--who will try to make the best decision for them and their families. Anyone who says money should never be an issue in these matters should have to foot the bill for families who are impoverished by these sorts of extraordinary medical expenses necessary to keep someone with no hope of recovery alive indefinitely.

I think the parents are gutless, selfish, cowards in need of a very serious mental health intervention.

Subject: RE: BS: Parents who watch their kids die
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 09:08 AM

HEDDA IS HOPING TO HOP TO TAHITI
TO HATCH A HIBISCUS TO HANG ON HER HAT
NOW HEDDA HAS HUNDREDS OF HATS ON HER HATRACK
SO HOW CAN A HOP TO TAHITI HELP THAT?

Subject: RE: BS: Parents who watch their kids die
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 09:12 AM

PHILO FIXES FLANGES FOR FRANCES ON FRIDAY
BUT FRANCES PHONES PHILO FOR FLANGES FOR FREE
THE FLANGES FIT PHILOS FRENCH FLIVVER
WILL FRANCES FAKE FLANGES FIT PHILO SAN FEE?

Subject: RE: BS: Parents who watch their kids die
From: GUEST,1st guest
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 02:35 PM

Whistling past the graveyard there Guest 9:08/9:12?

Here is some more information on how these family feuds end up in court battles like this (again, from ABC News):

"There is a certain routine-ness to withholding care," said Lefrak, adding that these decisions rarely involve lawyers or court cases. "Ninety-nine-point-five percent of the time these things get ironed out."

Then why do a handful of these cases plunge the nation into a lengthy, complex legal and political morass?

"They will get there usually when there's significant family dysfunction," said Lefrak. Long-smoldering family tensions often reach a flash point when terminal care decisions need to be made, he adds. "It's a very trying time."

"There are a lot of families out there who have a hard time accepting a case of persistent vegetative state," said Cranford "They look like they're perfectly normal in a way, but they're not. In those cases, we don't usually push it."

In almost all situations, medical professionals and families strive to keep PVS cases away from lawyers and courtrooms.

"You try to do the right thing. You try not to get the courts involved. Lawyers and judges have their own point of view," said Lefrak.

"These cases are hard for judges," said Cranford, "because there's a lot of sympathy for both the parents and for the spouse."

There are some strategies medical professionals have developed for keeping PVS and other end-of-life cases out of court.

"Number one is to get the medical facts. Sometimes the medical facts are sort of gray," said Lefrak. "For example, does Terri Schiavo have persistent vegetative state or not?"

"Number two are any hints of what the patient would have wanted," he said.

And Lefrak highlights the importance of working toward a consensus of agreement in every PVS case. This involves bringing in as many people as necessary, including clergy, social workers, ethical consultants and every member of the medical team, including all nurses and doctors.

"I will ask, 'Do you have a minister or would you like to use one of our spiritual care providers?' " said Lefrak. "The whole process has to be transparent. It means more work, and more people have to get involved.

Family members who feel left out of the decision-making process are usually the ones who go to lawyers, he said. "It's when somebody's out of the loop that they go and seek outside help."

"We're going to have lots of Terri Schiavos," said Lefrak. "But the family is going to only have one."

Even though cases like Schiavo's are rare, they will continue to come up, Lefrak believes, since the death of a family member is always a milestone in that family."

Subject: RE: BS: Parents who watch their kids die
From: GUEST,1st guest, too
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 04:51 PM

little dickie could use a clicky
blue clicky like it says below
when you're thinkings sticky and
you need to ipsy dixie be brave
and use a clicky clicky clicky blue clicky
little dicky!