"It's symbolic to remove the tube. If it's been in awhile, the hole stays open for weeks...patients pull them out accidentally all the time, and they get clogged and have to be changed monthly."
" The REAL question is that if she didn't "want" A TUBE, Why didn't they just start her on a dysphagia rehabilitation program? Most feeding tubes are placed for convenience, because it might take an hour to feed her properly."
" If she couldn't swallow, she wouldn't swallow saliva either...which is why the average life span on feeding tubes is six months...you die of aspiration pneumonia.So in the elderly with severe strokes or Alzheimer's or parkinson's disease I tell the family it's up to them: The feeding tube won't prolong their life, but they will die more comfortably-- their nutrition is better, so they die fat (well nourished) instead of dying thin with bedsores (bedsores are much more common if malnutrition occurs),..."
" Most patients I have treated with feeding tubes were for convenience, so they could live at home in retarded kids, or after a stroke. Usually they eat in addition to being tube fed, because they LIKE to eat...the fact that Terri has not had proper rehabilitation speaks loudly that they wanted her dead...and indeed, she was placed in a hospice, which is NOT where one places brain damaged people...."
Thank you Miss Behave. That was a fabulous article. I have worked in the medical field for many years so I have seen all kinds of illness, and I have also seen all kinds of miracles.
You know, I am a firm believer of carma, "what goes around, comes around", and I have seen carma many times and have to be honest in some cases enjoyed it immensely. Lol and wink, wink with a smile.
I worked with urology for some time and saw people that were supposedly not going to live long and are still alive and kicking, only difference is they do it with a better outlook in life. It always makes me happy to see what of my patients that was told the possibilities and how they overcame them. So I know it can happen. I just feel real good for Terri, and I think with all the patients and love that her family and friends can mustard up she will be atleast smiling again and maybe even laughing and talking, one can only hope and pray.