Feb14
The Search For Consciousness
on February 14, 2013 at 11:24 amAs this article shows, we know a lot less about the human mind than we should (even during the Terri Schiavo case, I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced that there was no one home). As the article notes, these are the forgotten people that society doesn’t want to deal with. I know that being locked in is one my biggest fears, infinitely worse than a jail sentence. If technology can open up lines of communication, that would be a huge breakthrough.
I doubt a body could be kept alive without some consciousness. How they are perceived has more to do with those perceiving with no one bothers with physical therapy being the most insightful comment in the article.
It’s like being buried alive. Before my stepdad died, I could see the terror in his eyes as he lay in the hospital. He only had to endure that for a few days before he died. Imagines months and years of that where people that could do nothing.
The thing that bothered me the most about the Terri Schiavo case is that her parents wanted to care for her. Assuming that they had the money to do it themselves, or could raise the money from donations, that should have been the end of the discussion.
As long as someone is willing and able to care for you, the idea that they can be overridden by judges, lawyers, politicians, “the system”, and the opinions of complete strangers is rather frightening. There seemed to be an awful lot of people arguing that she should be put to death for her own good.
The patient’s wishes should take precedence over anything else.
I don’t want to be overridden by lawyers, judges, etc, but I also sure as hell don’t want my wishes overridden by relatives, either.,
I know that I’d consider being in such a state a fate far worse then death, and I do have a living will for that reason. I just wish it was more legally binding.
Amen to your last paragraph. The prospect of simply laying in a bed, perhaps in great pain (they aren’t doing any palliative care, because they assume you aren’t feeling anything), is dreadful.