Reply #8: Part of brain removed in childhood, the rest compensates. [View All]

[Virginian]

I have read about children who have had portions of their brains removed due to tumors or epilepsy where the remaining brain compensates.
Instead of waiting until after her death to examine her brain, shouldn't she have had scans of her brain activity to determine if she had abnormally high activity in a normally quiet area of the brain?
I know she was too old to redirect her brain activity the way a child does, but still, if there is a doubt in the minds of loved ones about her cognitive function, shouldn't she be tested?

I'm sure the doctors have done all the tests necessary. They know this case better than I ever will. I rely on their judgment.

I told my husband tonight that if I were in her situation and someone wanted me to continue to exist as a vegetable as much as her parents do, what difference would it make to me that they didn't carry out my wishes. She'll never know. Go ahead and feed her. It makes the parents feel so much better to have her warm body around.