Anton.Johnson@f56.n161.z1.fidonet.org (Anton Johnson) (06/21/91)
Index Number: 16322
Gary, quality of life for one individual can be defined very
differently for different individuals that are suffering or are
handicapped. One needs to consider what the individual means to
other persons. One needs to consider the contributions that
individual can make to others. I have seen indivudals that are
fully capable that have a quality of life that I would consider to
be absolutely nil and I have seen those that are 100% paralized
have a quality of life that is very important to them as well as to
others. For instance I have had friends that are quads. Two of
them to be exact. In both situations both of these individuals had
a quality of life and a spark that they could share with many
others around them and were an encouragement to hundreds of
individuals. One of these friends even played herself in a movie
about her life. Today she is married, is an artist and even
operates a bookstore from what I heard. She is also able to
drive. I have another friend that had a mongoloid child. They had
to work hard for this little one to survive and it was very
costly. She eventually died at an early age. The mother wrote a
book that sold many thousands of copies. This child was not able
to communicate as most children, she was not able to run around and
play and do all the other things that young children are expected
to do. For this family though she was like an angel that brought
the family together and through the simple love of this child a
story was told to the world that has encouraged many parents that
have found themselves in the same position. Every situation is
different and must be evaluated in many different ways today.
There are no simple answers.
You say you wanted the plug pulled. Have you considered how
important you may be to others? Have you considered even through
your suffering how you might help others to have a better quality
of life. By doing so the quality of your life actually improves.
In a very simple way you are important to me. As a result of your
message I shared some of my thoughts which hopefully are meaningful
to you but they may also serve to encourage others. We never know
what importance we may have in the lives of others so that they may
have a better quality of life. We can not always think about
ourselves but must also consider what others need too. From a
subject point of view this can be very difficult at times.
I must admit that I am not in your shoes and have not experienced
in life many things that you have experienced. If I were in your
shoes I do not know that I would think any differently than you do
at the present time but I would hope that I would not choose to
pull the plug to meet what I THINK are my own needs. Anton...
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!161!56!Anton.Johnson
Internet: Anton.Johnson@f56.n161.z1.fidonet.orgGary.Warren@hnews.fidonet.org (Gary Warren) (06/21/91)
Index Number: 16334
Everyone must make a decision about what constitutes "quality of life"
and what s/he wishes to do with it, should the situation arise. That,
more than anything else about euthanasia, is my main concern and wish.
And now that I have a Living Will, which you advocated in the msg.
before this one, I expect my physicians, hospital and parents (or
girlfriend or wife, should I have one again in the forseeable future) to
abide by that document.
Btw, these issues were discussed in a patient's rights article in this
month's LADIES HOME JOURNAL. Everyone should grab a copy or Xerox it
from one in a library. A very good piece, indeed.
glw
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!Gary.Warren
Internet: Gary.Warren@hnews.fidonet.org