Sorry about the depressing tone of all my posts lately. But this one is absolutely essential!
Tim and I have a dear friend of ours who suffered a stroke and is now in a coma.
As if this is not bad enough, her grown children (all Catholics) have "decided" to
withhold food and water from her in order to bring about her death.
I guess they figure "well hell she's old anyway..."
We are disgusted and angry but also totally powerless.
Please say a prayer for her and her children that either she will literally wake up
or her children will figuratively wake up before it is too late.
John Paul II had this to say about how little we've come to value life...
" The fact that legislation in many countries, perhaps even departing from
basic principles of their Constitutions,
has determined not to punish these practices against life,
and even to make them altogether legal,
is both a disturbing symptom and a significant cause of grave moral decline.
Choices once unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense
are gradually becoming socially acceptable.
Even certain sectors of the medical profession,
which by its calling is directed to the defence and care of human life,
are increasingly willing to carry out these acts against the person.
In this way the very nature of the medical profession is distorted and contradicted,
and the dignity of those who practise it is degraded."
4 comments:
That is truly heartbreaking. I wish I could think of something useful to say or offer.
This sort of thing is the wave of the future, and I have no confidence that my living will -- which forbids such treatment of me -- will be any protection for me from suffering a similar fate.
I'm very sorry.
Thank you Paul. The worst part is that this woman is extremely wealthy and Tim and I know that she has suffered from people taking advantage of her in the past. We don't know if that is a factor now but you never know...We are not family members or even "friends of the family" so we don't have a voice in this at all. Tim helped her through a terrible financial fiasco some years back (people using her and lying to her) and that is how our friendship developed with her. we are praying and I guess that's all we can do.
Kris,
This is horrible! Do you know if she had power of attorney or anything drawn up that would lead her family to believe she would want this? Regardless, we will prayer for your friend, her family and for all of you who love her. Please keep up us to date on this.
God Bless.
Since I have posted this Tim and I have been assured that the parish pastor is with Mrs. -- daily. She has been annointed etc. I suppose we are to feel "set at ease" by this information. We are not. Because Tim's relationship was a business one, from all outside apearances he nor I should care about this woman. Yet what her family and others do not know is that through the course of Tim's "professional" time with her, he grew to love her and she us. In those times when others were very discouraging and negative about us and our growing family and our "orthodoxy", Mrs. -- was always sure to tell us how much she loved us, appreciated our witness, and that she was praying for us. I am glad to know that she has recieved the graces provided from the sacraments, yet I also know that she is dying a terrible death...we still have not seen her. I would like to just show up at her home and ask if we could come in...Tim feels that is too presumptuous. My feeling is I'd rather take that chance than to have to see her in a coffin at a funeral home. But I'm trying to follow Tim's lead here. Once again, all I can do is pray.
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