Posted on 03/26/2005 4:40:38 AM PST by tessalu
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) -- Jennifer Johnson, barefoot and in her pajamas, ran to her grandfather's bedside once a hospice worker said his death was moments away.
She got there - one minute too late.
Johnson said the chaos outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo is dying kept her from saying goodbye. When Johnson arrived, a police officer demanded identification; she had none. And after a hospice employee cleared her, another officer halted her for a search with a metal detector.
The delays lasted three to four minutes - the last of her grandfather's life.
"It's a terrible, extra obstacle to put in front of a family. ... Everything is about Schiavo," Johnson said. "It's all about her and in my family's case, it cost us dearly."
Woodside Hospice has 70 patients besides Schiavo, whose parents are desperately trying to have her feeding tube reconnected. Dozens of protesters have arrived from across the nation since the tube was removed March 18, and at least 15 have been arrested, prompting a police barricade around the facility and unprecedented security.
Family members visiting patients must pass through a police checkpoint to park, then show identification outside the door before another security screening inside. They also must walk by scores of signs decrying Schiavo's "crucifixion," "torture," and "starvation," plus navigate around hordes of media who have been camped outside.
"To have to maneuver through all of this and have a hostile environment outside when all they want is peace and quiet and to enjoy those few days they have left with a loved one is a horror," said Dr. Morton Getz, executive director of Douglas Gardens Hospice in Miami.
Getz said many people with a family member in a hospice have to make the same excruciating decision that courts have made for Schiavo.
"It's causing a lot of grief and questions in their own mind on whether they did the right thing," he said. "It's unconscionable to have a family member to be near the end stages of life and to get there, you have to walk through signs that say, 'Murderer.'"
Most protesters direct their signs and their chants against the courts and Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, who insists she would not want to be kept alive artificially.
But walking through a hostile environment can only add stress to what's already an emotionally draining situation.
"It probably has the same psychological effect on the residents' families as it does on someone who is walking into an abortion clinic and facing signs and aggressive behavior," said Elizabeth Foley, a Florida International University law professor who specializes in bioethics.
Over the past few days, as Schiavo's parents' attempts to have their daughter's feeding tube reinserted repeatedly failed, signs outside the hospice have grown more desperate. Doctors have said Schiavo would probably die within a week or two of the feeding tube being removed.
Messages compare Michael Schiavo to Scott Peterson, convicted of killing his wife and unborn child in California, and John Evander Couey, who allegedly murdered a 9-year-old girl in Homosassa.
One woman in a wheelchair regularly moves up and down sidewalks in front of the hospice yelling in a megaphone, "We're disabled, not disposable!" and "Terri is a person, not a vegetable!"
Relatives of hospice residents say the clamor - intended to rattle Michael Schiavo - rattles their patience.
"It's a real pain in the neck," said Bill Douglass, whose mother-in-law is a resident. He said the only consolation is that she is "oblivious" to the outside scene.
Police and hospice officials say they are trying to minimize the intrusion on hospice residents and their families, and that the security measures are meant to protect the privacy and safety of all residents, not just Schiavo.
But Johnson, 24, said her 73-year-old grandfather, Thomas Bone, was restricted from moving freely around the hospice grounds during his final days. He died just hours after Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed and protests intensified.
"They've taken away hospice's greatest quality, that it is peaceful and serene and quiet and calming - and it's not fair," Johnson said
A lot of people have had to run gauntlets to get to their workplaces where there are disputes and conflicts and protestors/strikers outside. It happened to me once, for days on end, and I didn't particularly agree with the protestors, but I don't remember being particularly mad at them for causing me this inconvenience and exercising their civil right to protest.
It distressed me more that the other side was so scornful of them.
Yeah, another disgusting handicapped person. Everybody should be perfect in our world.
Another display of irrational thinking - sadly, so emblematic of a significant portion of Freepers today.
I was referring SPECIFICALLY to protesting and disrupting the final days of those who are DYING in the hospice where Terri is located. I also EXPLICITLY stated people have the right to protest all they want, and be as loud as they want AS LONG AS they are NOT disturbing the other 70 patients who DESERVE some peace and quiet during their final days in mortality.
Can you comprehend simple English or must it still need to be spelled out for you?
You want to make noise and protest? Fine, just DON'T BOTHER the other 70 patients who are DYING. They deserve some peace and quiet.
Comprende?
Bye.
"Can you comprehend simple English or must it still need to be spelled out for you?"
I guess I'm just too stupid to comprehend your high minded barbarianisms. Is my life worth living? I'm awaiting the counsel of your wisdom.
I guess so if you can't even conceive of the need for those dying of some peace and quiet.
And it scares the crap out a large part of the population.
The damage being done by these people in the political realm is incalculable.
We have become our own worst enemy.
From the Telegraph:
Bach's familiar strains were soon drowned out by the bellowing of a white-haired pensioner in a Dunkin Donuts T-shirt. Mr Bush, his brother, Jeb, the governor of Florida, the police, the media, the judges and seemingly anyone else the old man could think of were guilty of torture and murder.
"Bastards. They are criminals. They should save her," he shouted, glancing at the low, red brick building where Mrs Schiavo, 41, was beginning her eighth day without food or water.
Then why did you mention it? Maybe you weren't, but I was. In my very humble opinion only, a lisp is a slight handicap complicated by those who suffer from it are sometimes ridiculed.
Bingo!
Well stated.
"behaved EXACTLY like liberals when they don't get their way"
Right on except you left out the part about "court shopping" until a judge who "agrees with us" is found.
An excellant point! I have had experiences with Hospice, some very good. But overall, it is an incredible money making machine...and most of it is tax dollars.....with not very much accountability. One of the tragedies in this whole situation is that some very important issues we need to deal with in this country are NOT being raised.
A whole lot of people---lawyers, medicare, hospices, nursing homes,the Church, the media, politicians---have gained a lot out of this tragic situation...money and free PR for themselves. And then you've got all these last minute characters who want their 15 mins of fame. Where were all these lawyers and nurses in the last 15 years. It's sickening. The major players will all get a book and movie deal out of this. And Randall is Terri's spokesman? Duh!
No, it is not compassion to mob this hospice. It is self-centered to the max.Compassion would be to stand quietly far enough away perhaps with a candle holding vigil to allow other families easy enterance and some peace and respect for them and thier loved ones. No need for TV interviews for those not involved.
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