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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The family of a 73-year-old Alaska man who fell from a tree after rescuing a cat last month decided to have his breathing tube removed. Joseph Fletcher of Fairbanks has been in a Seattle hospital since suffering a head injury, a torn aorta and broken ribs in last month's fall.

My beloved home state of Michigan is snagged in an ugly and self-imposed economic and social snare. Michigan is on economic life support. With unemployment already hovering at fifteen percent and with the automotive industry going the way of the Dodo bird, the bad times for Michigan may have just begun. Michiganiacs beware: things could get much uglier for the Wolverine state before it gets better. The automotive industry, the foundation of Michigan, and dare I say America, is bankrupt and dying. Taxpayer bailouts, loans to the poorly managed and union controlled car companies, and even a $4,500.00 taxpayer subsidy...

MISSION VIEJO A 14-year-old skateboarder who was struck by an SUV when he veered between two parked cars will be taken off life-support Tuesday at Children's Hospital of Orange County at Mission. Nathan Gonzalez has been in critical condition in the intensive pediatric ward since he was struck Sunday evening near Los Alisos Boulevard while skateboarding with a group of friends. KCAL 9's Michele Gile reported that the victim's family plans to say their final goodbyes to Nathan and take him off life-support Tuesday afternoon. Denise Almazan of CHOC could not immediately confirm broadcast reports that the boy might be...

How many people get a second chance at life? Rae Kupferschmidt has. In mid-January, the 65-year-old former medical secretary suffered a devasting cerebral hemorrhage, a massive bleeding on the brain. "They thought I was dead," she says. In fact, on January 17th, doctors declared her "brain dead." One word, "dead," is handwritten on that date on the calendar in Rae's room at United Hospital in Saint Paul. In that same hospital room where Rae fielded questions from reporters on Tuesday. Clearly, Rae did not die, but even now, her family is not second-guessing the decision to disconnect life support. Medically,...

"Paulo Melo, 29, has been in a coma at the Royal Darwin Hospital for two weeks, after severing his spinal cord in a car crash." - read more below: doctor requested, family objected, court granted

America Radio, the liberal news and talk radio network headlined by the comedian Al Franken, has another week to find a buyer. A lawyer for the network, Tracy Klestadt, told a bankruptcy hearing Monday that the company was in "advanced negotiations with a few parties" about a sale, and expected to have more definitive news on a deal in a week. Under its financing agreement, the network had faced a deadline of this Wednesday to have a deal in place for a buyer, but Klestadt said the network's lender had informally agreed to extend the deadline by about a week....

Please pray for Johnny my best friend's 16 year old nephew and a friend of my son's. He was in a motorbike accident and is on life support. He is being airlifted to Orlando hospital. Thanks

<p>Last Friday mom went in for a routine heart catherization for clogged arteries. The doctor, in his infinite wisdom, decided that she had to have an immediate triple bypass. She recovered, as expected, the next day. Then, on Monday, she has fluid build up around the heart and coded. Her brain was deprived of oxygen for too long and she is now effectively brain dead. She will be taken off of life support tomorrow.</p>

Family Fights To Take Toddler Home Chris Frank Life Or Death Battle Feb. 28-A life or death decision could be hanging in the balance for a child. Little Brett Shively Junior was rushed to the hospital after a terrible accident where he nearly drowned in a bathtub. Now his family is fighting to bring the little boy home. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday in District Court to decide whether or not a Wichita hospital can remove the ventilator keeping the two year old boy alive. Brett's family says, "We just believe that we're the best people to decide his care."...

I am going to apologize in advance for the metaphors to follow, but they do make the point. Politics is a lot like football. It is a team sport for individuals with similar goals. The team advances its agenda, sometimes in small increments, moving the ball toward “victory.” The only real difference between football and politics is that the players can change positions frequently. Sometimes a politician is the quarterback, sometimes he or she is the lineman. In all cases, everyone wins if they effectively execute the play that is called in the huddle. I know I am a lineman...

BJ spent 5 weeks on a mission trip in Peru this summer, spreading the love of Jesus. A few weeks after returning home he was diagnosed with pneumonia, which quickly turned much more serious and became the lesser concern as an infection throughout his body was discovered. He is in the hospital on full support while his body tries to heal from this unknown infectious disease. Please PRAY for BJ!!! BJ Higgins c/o PICU St. Vincent's Hospital 2001 W 86th St. Indianapolis, IN 46260....Updates posted daily by his parents

Brain-Dead Woman Dies After Giving Birth By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer ARLINGTON, Va. - A brain dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, her family said. Susan Torres' plight attracted worldwide sympathy after she suffered a stroke in May as she battled cancer. She gave birth to a daughter, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, on Tuesday by Caesarean section. "This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, her brother-in-law, said in a statement. With the consent of her...

‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ Tracy Gaskill shows major signs of recovery after critical accident in 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By FOSS FARRAR, Arkansas City Traveler For nearly three years, Don and Stella Gaskill had hoped their severely injured granddaughter would talk again. Just recently, their prayers were answered. On Sept. 3, 2002, Tracy Gaskill suffered critical internal and head injuries when her pickup overturned on its top. Doctors told her relatives that night that she probably would die by noon the next day, Don Gaskill said this morning. “That accident scared us to death,” said Gaskill, who lives in rural Winfield. Tracy...

It is a rare person who has not heard of the recent cruel homicide of the Florida woman, Terri Schiavo. Everyone, it seemed, had a strong opinion on the subject. Yet, despite clear moral teachings on the evils of euthanasia, there are ‘Catholics’ who boast support for euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.[1] Are these ‘Catholics’ badly formed and ignorant of their Church’s infallible teachings on the dignity and sacredness of all human life? Is it the fault of Catholic clergy for not preaching the Church’s teachings from the pulpit? In view of the clarity and frequency of the Church’s up-to-date teachings,...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- A firefighter brain-damaged in a 1995 roof collapse had an "amazing" weekend, recognizing and speaking with his four sons and other family and friends for the first time in years, a family spokesman said Monday. "I want to talk to my wife," Donald Herbert said out of the blue Saturday at the skilled nursing facility where he has lived for more than seven years. Staff members put Linda Herbert on the telephone. It was the first of many conversations he had during a 14-hour stretch, Herbert's uncle, Simon Manka said. "How long have I been away?"...

-snip- A St. Cloud area man who suffered a brain injury in an April 8 altercation at a St. Cloud nightclub died Tuesday afternoon, more than a week after he was removed from life support. Justin W. Smiley, 28, of Sauk Rapids, died about 1 p.m. at the St. Cloud Hospital, his aunt, Pam Heldt, said Tuesday. "We're feeling a lot of relief right now that he's finally at peace," Heldt said. -snip- Janelle Kendall, the Stearns County Attorney, said an autopsy is scheduled for today. She said her office is awaiting the results of the autopsy before making a...

Call me sensitive about such things. Back in the '90s, when my wife and I belonged to a Boston tennis club, we got together with the rest of the membership for a round-robin mixed doubles tournament and brunch. Lovely occasion, lots of fun, and as we sat around the table after playing and eating, the discussion turned to issues of the day, one of which was health care. A young man across from me said, "I'm a surgeon, and I certainly think it's within bounds for me to refuse to provide my services to certain people. For example, smokers." I...

HOUSTON - The family of Spiro Nikolouzos won another legal round in court Tuesday in its fight with a Houston hospital to keep him alive, Local 2 reported. Late Tuesday afternoon, the 14th Court of Appeals issued an injunction for St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital to not touch the 68-year-old's life support. The decision came after an appeals court earlier in the day dissolved an emergency injunction issued Saturday because the appeals court has a specific way it assigns cases to one of two courts. "This was literally a matter of life or death," Local 2 legal analyst Brian Wice said....

This is an amended post from my personal blog. I post it here because I expect it to take off like crazy in the MSM as their "counter-argument" when the Dems start taking heat for their murderous stance on Terri Schiavo. A comment was left by "Mike" who, after making his accusation, failed to substantiate his claim with any facts, a common practice of Leftists, it seems.  He asserts that President Bush, as Governor of Texas, signed a bill then that makes him a hypocrite in his stand on Terri Schiavo now.  I have just two things to say to...

§ 166.039. PROCEDURE WHEN PERSON HAS NOT EXECUTED OR ISSUED A DIRECTIVE AND IS INCOMPETENT OR INCAPABLE OF COMMUNICATION. (a) If an adult qualified patient has not executed or issued a directive and is incompetent or otherwise mentally or physically incapable of communication, the attending physician and the patient's legal guardian or an agent under a medical power of attorney may make a treatment decision that may include a decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from the patient. (b) If the patient does not have a legal guardian or an agent under a medical power of attorney, the attending...