[retMD]

Yes, yes. Believe that. Be comfy. Go comfy to your grave in your old age. Dr. Comfortable, MD. An easy and comfortable life you should have. Should have. Yes indeed.

Would you rather believe an edited tape designed to manipulate your emotions? I read the autopsy reports, and no way could she track a balloon. If you believe your loved ones should continue on in a persistent vegetative state, I am all for you being able to make that decision.

And as for your wish for my comfort, I lost my husband of 10 years to a brain tumor. He made it clear he wouldn't want to live in a persistent vegetative state. Fortunately for me, I never had to make such a decision on his behalf, but I have utmost empathy for the people who do have to make decisions like that. It is never easy.

[bvw]

What a person makes clear before is not a valid predictor of how they feel once in a non-communicative state. But it is exactly as you and your husband imagined -- very comfortable to think we know. And surely he wanted to comfort you.

So be comfortable. It IS easy. Why worry? No bother. Let them go, it IS what they wanted!

Isn't it?

[Triggerhippie]

Fortunately for me, I never had to make such a decision on his behalf, but I have utmost empathy for the people who do have to make decisions like that.

As a conservative, I find it hard to have empathy for a man who shacks up and has kids with another woman while his wife is in a "PVS." Especially when the SOB uses her rehab money to help his new "family."

It is distressing to see how many people can rationalize their way around this fairly clear-cut travesty. I suppose I'm just not "nuanced" enough...

[Ohioan from Florida]

First, welcome to FR.

Second, if you are really an MD, then you should be able to discern what was in that autopsy report. It was widely reported that the autopsy confirmed the PVS diagnosis, which is a blatant lie, because the report stated that PVS is a clinical diagnosis and can only be determined in a live person. It stated that her condition upon death was consistent with either a PVS or MCS, and that it could not be determined which state Terri was in most recently.

Third, I believe that had Michael continued therapy and rehab for Terri after 1993, that maybe she would have continued the progress she had already made. However, if one forgoes therapy, you as a doctor, would know quite well that it would be unlikely for anyone to recover, and in fact one would digress, as Terri did. It is unconscionable to withhold therapy, especially if you have just begged a jury for $$ to provide that therapy for the next 20 years, which is what Michael asked for.