Thursday, March 31, 2005

ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN

"The journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path. One we all must take. The gray rain curtin of this world falls away and then you see it.......a far green country under a swift sunrise."  Gandalf in Return of the King.

Well, Terri Schiavo has taken that path we all must take. I hope she finds Tolkiens' "far green country under a swift sunrise." Perhaps her spirit took that journey long ago and her body finally has the chance to catch up. Tolkien was a fellow catholic and I can't help wondering what the good professor would have made of all this.

What I really fear is that this whole sad, sorry, mess has taken another meat cleaver to the fraying threads that bind us together. Yes, they will do an autopsy. I fear that no matter what the results are, the people who didn't accept her diagnosis before won't believe the results now. They will continue to see conspiracies under the bed and the devil behind every door.

A torrent of harsh words and accusations have flashed back and forth like barbed arrows tipped with poison. Those words can't be called back. The woman got lost in the rhetoric. From what little I can tease out about the kind of person Terri was before this all started, I don't think she would have wanted this for her loved ones.

Those who saw the parents as angels or demons won't change their minds. Those who saw her husband as a murderer or devoted spouse making the best of a busted flush won't change their minds. I suspect that neither side were angels or demons. Just fallible human beings trying to make the best of that busted flush.

Which leaves the rest of us trying to figure out how to protect ourselves from ending up in the same situation. A situation where there are no good or best answers. We watched my grandmother die in end stage Alzheimers. It was long. It was slow. It was agonizing. To quote someone else. "It was as if she left and forgot to take her body with her."

We were much more fortunate with my dad. He had a lot of years of dealing with old injuries and two cancer surgeries, but when he went, it was as if someone blew out a candle.

I would like to say to all those who think they know how best to handle the end of some one else's life. The only person you can sentence to that kind of existance is yourself. Kindly leave the rest of us to deal with our own salvation in the privacy of our homes, with our immediate families. Your interference, no matter howwell intentioned will not be appreciated. Remember what paves the road to hell.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful entry.  I'm going to pimp it in my journal.  Lisa  :-]

Anonymous said...

here here!!!!!

great entry.....thanks Lisa.

Anonymous said...

Very well said.

Anonymous said...

Excellent entry!  Lisa

Anonymous said...

Lisa,

Wonderful point of view. I haven't really seen anybody attack the Schindlers. I'm sure they are just fallable people like the rest of us, doing the best they can in the situation. What has bothered me the most are the attacks against Michael Schiavo. My father and I had to make a similar decision in regards to my uncle. It's tough enough in private. I can't imagine having hordes of people doubting you and calling you a murderer. My heart goes out to him, the Schindlers, and the rest of the principals.

dave

http://journals.aol.com/ibspiccoli4life/RandomThoughtsfromaProgressiveMi

Anonymous said...

Hello-
As a person who has followed this case very closely, I thank you your well thought out words and intelligence. She finally rests in peace after so many ridiculouse years of NOT having "her" wishes followed as they should have.

My Mother is a Hospice patient (terminal lung cancer) and Hospice cares for her in her and my Dad's home. They respect and take such excellent care of her and are angles as far as my family and my self are concerned. They don't judge her, they just comfort her and keep her as comfortable as humanly possible. I along with my Father, sister are also her caregivers. Thank the Lord my Mother has a very detailed and strict advanced directive.

Again, thank you so very much for this entry and it was beautiful.

Gayla
http://journals.aol.com/schoolgal040/SoMuchMore