Anybody out there having a bad time during Schiavo mania?

[Coventina]

I know I am.

I watched my mother die about two years ago, after she quit eating/drinking on her own.

My dad chose not to give her an iv or feeding tube.

All this hoopla is really depressing me. I'm just wondering if there are others out there who are bumming as well.

I hate that people would consider me and my family "murderers" for what we decided for my mother.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I had to help make the decision for my MIL

Because I was there firsthand, because I saw that her quality of life was gone and not coming back, I still feel like we did the right thing for her.

As far as Terri goes, I have not seen her and do not know her, so I do feel uncomfortable with her situation. I do wish it wasn't a public ordeal. So hard for the family, no matter where the stand on the issue.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. This is a personal choice for everyone.

That we cannot judge for others has always been my belief. If you felt it was right, then it was. No one else is walking in your shoes, the same as for poor Terri Shiavo's family. The media coverage was just crazy. I hated it. This is personal, and should have remained so. I am truly sorry for your loss.:-(

[Nite Owl]

2. It sure is.

My mom too passed away from colon cancer and she had refused any chemo and she told the hospice that she wanted nothing, absolutely nothing but pain meds. The hospice nurses were so wonderful, I don't know how we could have made it through without them. I asked them for an iv for fluids and they said that when they spoke to my mom she said no to anything and said that all it would do is prolong the process her body was going through. I knew that on one level but emotionally is another thing. She went the way she wanted and I had to honor that, it was honoring her life in honoring her death.

[Cleita]

3. My stepdaughter had to do the same for her mother.

She went through a lot of trauma after wondering if she had done the right thing because of the whole church crap. She has finally came to peace with herself that her mother, who suffered from Alzheimers, wouldn't have had one quality day of life from the time she died, if she had been kept artificially "fresh". Believe me being kept fresh is not the same as being kept alive.

[livetohike]

4. My father-in-law suffered a massive heart attack in 1992

He was 67 years old and the last person you could imagine this happening to. The paramedics arrived less than five minutes after his attack. They worked on him for 30 minutes and were able to get a heartbeat going.

My FIL was on life support for three days. He was in a coma-never regained consciousness. He did not have a living will. We all knew he would not want to live like that (attached to a machine). He had a feeding tube and ventilator. At that time in PA, it was illegal to remove the feeding tube. We asked his GP what he would do if it was his father. He said he would let him go. So we had the ventilator removed. My FIL breathed on his own, to our surprise. He lived 13 more days.

This tragedy with Terri Schiavo has brought up all of the sadness we went through with my FIL. I cannot imagine a family wanting to watch their daughter, sister, wife endure this for 15 years.

[Joe Chi Minh]

5. Coventina, I don't believe there

is the remotest comparison between the two cases, in moral terms. Not the teeniest. I can see how the Schiavo controversy could have given rise to a lot of confusion and distress in your heart, but put the idea right out of your head.

[Skittles]

7. it reminded me of the six days my dad was in the hospitalized

that's how long he lived after he shot himself in the head. I surely would not have wanted the input of these asshole politicians.