Terri Schiavo

I know that I am a day late and at least a dollar short on this subject. I also know that I am going to disappoint a few of my more conservative readers with this posting.

I am actually for the feeding tube to be removed from Terri's body. I know that sounds terribly harsh and somewhat cruel, but I believe that it is her husband's place to make this decision. I know that nothing is in writing and that we only have his word to take for this decision, but I believe him.

My wife and I have the same arrangement as the Schiavo's. Our mistake, which is the same as theirs, is that we don't have that written in a living will or any other document. If nothing else, this case has brought me to the realization that time isn't necessarily on my side as far as the documentation of my monetary assets or how my physical being should be handled in the case of my incapacitation.

I have no desire to be left hooked up to a bunch of tubes for feeding or defecation purposes. When I am no longer able to perform these duties without the help of others, or machines, then I no longer wish to be a part of this world. If I am unable to do these rudimentary things, then I will already be in a better world anyway. My wife feels the same way. What both of us have to do at this point is to prepare the proper documentation so that what is happening to Mrs. Shiavo doesn't happen to either of us.

Terri Shiavo deserves the right to die with dignity. Her parents, though I know love her very much, have got to let go. Most of the doctors who have examined her have said that she is in a (and these are my words for lack of a direct quote) persistant vegitative state for which there is no cure or recovery.

I am sorry for the loss to her family, and this is where I will get in a little trouble with my conservative friends, but it is time to let her go. She is dead. God called her home 15 years ago, but science has not allowed her body to follow. Let her go now.

I pray that God heals the wounds between these two families and allows them to move ahead with the plans that He has for them throughout the rest of their lives. Perhaps one of them will find a new calling because of this tremendous loss. But make no mistake, it is time for Terri to be layed to rest and for her family to know that she rests with God.