****"Then this case should be an advertisement to remind people tht a living will is essential if such a situation arises***"
I know you're gone, but I can't let this stand without saying.
Everyone should BEWARE OF LIVING WILLS. A generic Living Willing, is just that. You could end up requiring a day or two on a respirator, with total recovery in days. However, due to the Living Will, all of a sudden your organs could reside within another human being.
Good Living Wills also include: Giving someone you REALLY, REALLY TRUST, power of attorney over your medical needs, rather than giving the doctors the ability to immediately pull the plug.
Hope the above made sense. I've been so worried about people running out and getting living wills without realizing there ARE dangerous sides to them, too.
...and instructions on how to hide you from the do-gooders who would try to block your wishes from being carried out.
Living wills in a situation such as you describe are ruly dangerous given the demand for organs fromfreshly killed corpses.