Family Barred From Seeing Comatose Woman

Las Vegas Sun ^ | 10/22/03 | Mitch Stacy

[Coral Snake]

Im sorry but with my screen name I kind of resent that. Venomous snakes are SAINTS compared to any of the perps in this horror show.

[PleaseNoMore]

Having written professionally for many years

Hey now, that isn't fair. You never said that you were a pro. No wonder I always feel one upped when I disagree with you, lol. Nevertheless, you are quite eloquent and, whether I agree with your or not, I enjoy reading your posts. Though you profess atheism and I Christianity, I respect you and your firm belief in freedom of expression of religion. In my book you are AOK. :o)

Hope that your mom has recovered from her back surgery and that you have recovered from your trip to the "evil" dentist. Take care.

With that said and seeing that you are the professional writer I am requesting that you overlook any typos, grammar errors and abuses of literary devices in my post, lol.

[Rebelgrrl]

LMAO sure! Why not? Look at the hurricane in beginning of August. Opal came in October. Erin was at the beginning of August. Erin was the lower cat but crossed the state to make an appearance, Opal was the higher cat. Keep in mind that I just woke up. I'm a little sharper then, especially when waking up to get the mail and finding a lizard on the outside window, scaring the crap out of a half-awake rebelgrrl.



Hurricane Erin hit Florida twice Hurricane Erin hit Florida with a one-two punch on Aug. 2 and 3, 1995. Erin first came ashore from the Atlantic near Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with winds around 85 mph on the 2nd. It moved westward across the state, weakening to a tropical storm over land. After moving back over warm Gulf of Mexico water, Erin regained hurricane strength before coming ashore again near Pensacola on the 3rd with sustained winds of 94 mph and gusts up to 103 mph. The storm blasted across Florida's Panhandle and southern Alabama before losing strength as it moved inland and dissipating into rain. Four deaths were blamed on Erin, and another seven people were reported missing at sea. The barrier island stretching from Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach absorbed the brunt of the storm as it came ashore near Pensacola. The storm blew trees onto homes, cars and businesses, peeled roofs from buildings, ripped shingles and siding off homes, and blew out windows. The county said 186 structures were damaged. President Clinton signed an emergency declaration to provide federal assistance to state and local agencies in 19 counties. Officials projected insured losses as high as $360 million from Erin's two-day trek through Florida, a fraction of the $16 billion in insured losses from Andrew in 1992. By The Associated Press

[Annie03]

Coral Snake-so sorry, no offense meant. I was writing fast and rattlesnake just came to mind in that simile. Of course, rattlesnakes are not "mean" and I'm sorry I insulted them by comparing them the this pack of devil. : )

[Coral Snake]

Actually "rattlers" as we call them where I live are meaner than Corals and cause the considerable bulk of snakebite related death in his country. However I stand by my belief that NO Venomous snake not even a KING COBRA, BLACK MAMBA or AUSTRALIAN TAIPAN or EITHER SPECIES is as EVIL as the Michael Schiavo, Gorge Felos, Judge Greer, Mary Labyak, Peter Singer quintet. When I'm not FREEPing or otherwise involved with my computer I am an amateur herpetologist. (As you can probably see by both my screen name and my defense of snakes as being less wicked than these demonics.)

[MineralMan]

We do not live in England, nor do we live in accordance with the traditions of the 18th century United States. We live in the 21st Century, and adultery laws are either gone or not enforced in any state in this country. Frankly, I do not like this man, but you cannot enforce a law for him alone. That is not the way this nation operates. The FL legislature and its governor have done their business. There it is. Now, we will see what happens.

[MineralMan]

"Then it should be enforced in Michael's case.

Seems we now even have to make a will to declare that if ill our parents should be allowed to visit us."

Sorry, but that is not how our system works. Unequal enforcement of the law is grounds for dismissal in any criminal court.

As for living wills, anyone who wishes to not be subjected to extraordinary medical measures should most certainly make out such a living will. I have one, and it states specifically that if I am in a condition where I will not recover, and am not in a position to state my wishes, no measures should be taken to prolong my life. My wife has the same thing in her living will. There will be no question on this matter if she or I ever end up in this unfortunate woman's position.

Sadly, that was not the case here, so the husband is the one who makes the rules. Or, that was the case until the FL legislature and Governor overrode the issue.

Now, things are back as they were, with this unfortunate woman being kept alive through a tube in her stomach. Is that what she would have wanted? I do not know. If it is not, then this is all a horrible bad dream for her.

That is why I have made my wishes very clear. I almost died from viral encephalitis 13 years ago. I was in a coma for several days. I did not have such a living will, and I was between an ex-wife and a wife-to-be. Fortunately, the doctors all believed that I might well recover, which I did.

I have enormous sympathy for everyone involved in this situation. I do not have any answers. I do know, however, that the huge group of people who are so adamant that this woman should be kept alive artificially after 13 years are not compentent to make that decision. They are not there. They are not involved. For almost everyone involved, this is a political issue. That is a shame.

What is my opinion on whether she should receive continued life-support? I have none. It is none of my business. It would be none of anyone's business if I were in that situation, except for my wife, and she has my living will, as does my attorney.

[Annie03]

I agree, Coral Snake. Snakes do what they gotta do. Humans do what they choose to do. M Sciavo, Felos et al are Satans own. Now, I think the reason "serpents" and "Satan" are put together is only this: A snake can slither up to you and right over your foot and you won't see it til its too late. Evil can sneak up on you just the same. Think we've seen that in this case. Best regards

[pgyanke]

I do my insulting in public... and my apologizing.

I'm getting too personally involved in this story... I reacted poorly and brought the tone of the conversation down a couple of notches. I'm sorry.

[First_Salute]

Bump --- affadavit by registered nurse Carla Iyer, who was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Florida from April 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo was a patient there.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I accept you apology. I can understand how this story can affect you. If I acted in a way that provoked you, please accept my apology. Sometimes, in the heat of these things, we talk past each other and fail to communicate. Sometimes we irritate without intending to do so. I appreciate your coming forward. Thanks amigo.

[pgyanke]

Via con dios (sp?)