Posted on 11/04/2005 3:24:09 AM PST by 8mmMauser
Family members are investigating what they consider to be suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a nursing home patient at the center of a life and death tug-of-war reminiscent of the Terri Schiavo tragedy.
Seventy-nine-year-old Jimmy Chambers died in the early morning hours of Oct. 24 after the tracheotomy tubes that deliver oxygen from a ventilator to a hole in his neck became unhooked. Family members were told Chambers, a resident of the Anne Maria Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in North Augusta, S.C., apparently pulled the interlocking tubes apart.
"We're having it investigated. We're just incredulous," Chambers' daughter, Deanna Potter, told WND in reference to her siblings. "The last time I saw dad he was blowing me a kiss. I blew him one and he blew one back."
The retired dispatcher for Holland Motor Express died approximately 10 hours later. His death certificate indicates he died of "natural causes."
"Apparently, suffocation is a 'natural cause' when you're on a ventilator. We're contesting that," said Potter. "He suffocated. He didn't just pass away. He struggled and fought. And I'm just so angry."
Potter estimates it would have taken 10 to 14 minutes for her father, deprived of oxygen, to fall unconscious, and questions why the nursing home staff didn't come to his aid.
"The oxygen-saturation meter and his ventilator both would have had alarms going off. Four-thirty, five o'clock in the morning you'd think someone would hear this," she added. "That's the thing that really bothers me and makes me suspicious."
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Schiavo right-to-die case captured the attention of the world
8mm
I had always thought that much of the real drive behind organ-donation programs at death was the profit in the body parts. Of course, it sounds so reasonable: give her heart to someone who can still use it when it is no longer of any use to you. I would not sign an organ donation card because of the possibility of abuse by both law enforcement and the medical profession.
I cannot let go of this story. I posted on #1317 what some parents did to a young kid and got praised for it:
Dave Walborn lifted his son upright, all 32 pounds of him, slipped one hand behind his lolling head and gazed into the open but vacant blue eyes. He spoke out loud the words that would move him and the boy's mother, Kerri Bruning, one step closer to an excruciating decision.
"Dylan, it's OK if you want to go," he said. "I don't want you hanging on for me."
He heard no response, felt no mystical vibe. But with the sound of his own voice, Dave opened the door to a possibility:
Can we let the Denver Post get away with cutting heroes out of slimy dough with evil cookie cutters?
8mm
And still, he defied expectations.
Dave, now 32, and Kerri, 35, had heard predictions that he would not see his first birthday. But Dylan saw that one and three more. And though these anniversaries brought no corresponding developmental milestones - no first steps, no first words, no first anything - the parents built two loving homes for their son.
They never married. Although their engagement weeks after Dylan's birth reflected good intentions, their short romance dissolved in the difficulty of caring for a severely disabled child and they called it off. Yet they remained committed to their son, mutually respectful and supportive as caregivers.
Even as they moved apart, Dylan's life bound them.
But by the middle of his fifth year last summer, the boy's seizures had intensified. Although doctors countered by increasing his medication, the spasms repeatedly burst through the chemical buffer.
I hope others can read the whole and long detailed article, but I am unable to get through it.
8mm
How to murder and be happy and self satisfied. Shades of Mikey and the Murderers, here is their pastor:
Pastor Buddy, on the staff of a large non-denominational congregation, knew Kerri and Dave from previous hospital visits in which he'd prayed with them and Dylan. This time, he asked the Lord to give the parents clear understanding of what they were supposed to do later that day; he did not presume to know the answer.
he did not presume to know the answer
God help us! The simply things has him confound! Terri could have told him, where there is life, there is hope', so, therefore, 'thou shalt not kill'.
Not one in that congregation stood up and ask for their pastor to leave if he can't lead? Truly a herd being led to slaughter! Wonder what the name of that church is.
I read that story and wanted to throw up. In fact I didn't even ping anyone to it. This poor kid lasted 24 days. While I can certainly understand the severity of Dylan's health problems, I will never understand the conscience decision to starve the kid to death. Didn't they understand that nature would have taken its course, probably sooner than later?
Having experienced a sick child, I can't imagine what went through your mind when you read this story. The slippery slope is getting a little slicker.
Photo of Dylan in the arms of his mother on the last day he was fed.
His parents ended his short life because he was disabled. Dylan proved he had a strong will to live by outliving the doctor's predictions that he wouldn't survive past his infancy.
Excerpts from the article:
Dave, who had known all along that this moment would bludgeon him, begins to cry. Kerri can't find tears - though she feels empty and sad, the moment also brings peace and relief.
It is the 24th day since they stopped feeding their son.
You can sponsor the event for a donation as little as $500 up to $15,000.
North Country Gazette report
'This poor kid lasted 24 days."
How sad...at some point these parents will revisit this decision.
Perhaps the parents will revisit. From our experience, usually parents tiptoe out quickly and never look back, and do not even want to know what happens. They just slam a door shut. But in this case they made such a deal out of it to justify their actions, I bet they review it one day. They should recoil in horror. Of course, it would be nice if they understood responsibility, commitment, and other human traits as well.
There is only one sponsor for a $15,000 donation. Now, that is really prestige. Maybe it comes with a "Get out of Hell free" card.
"It is the 24th day since they stopped feeding their son."
I wonder if they ever went through the effort to teach him to eat spoon fed. Nawwww, that would have taken time in their busy schedule.
I suspect it is a lot tougher to deny your kid a bowl full of food sitting there for 24 days, than to have somebody close off the tube feeding. Too personal.
Postpartum abortion
8mm
Is there really any difference between this unmarried "mother" and the Nazis? It's just that the former makes Americans more comfortable than the latter.
Is this the never ending thread?
MICHAEL SCHIAVO ANNOUNCES NEW POLITICAL COMMITTEEFLORIDA Michael Schiavo, whose 15 year struggle to grant his wifes end-of-life wishes triggered unprecedented government intrusion and political grandstanding by political leaders from the Florida Legislature to President George W. Bush, today announced he has formed TerriPAC - a national political committee. (more)
MICHAEL SCHIAVO ANNOUNCES NEW POLITICAL COMMITTEEFLORIDA Michael Schiavo, whose 15 year struggle to grant his wifes end-of-life wishes triggered unprecedented government intrusion and political grandstanding by political leaders from the Florida Legislature to President George W. Bush, today announced he has formed TerriPAC - a national political committee. (more)
President Bush is not helping Anna Nicole Smith for a campaign contribution, and her case has nothing to do with Terri Schiavo. That really is a ridiculous, irrational statement. The administration through its Solicitor General is arguing to preserve the integrity of state court jurisdiction, something any conservative should applaud, that is, any conservative not incapable of distinguishing two completely unrelated matters.
The current issue is the question of when federal courts may hear claims that involve state probate proceedings. (Solicitor General) Clement contends the justices should protect jurisdiction in disputes. link.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.