What was missed
The following comment was posted:
No one talks about "it". It has been a shame and a huge lost opportunity for the past 15 years not to reach out to the real demon in Terri's case --BULIMIA! What a horrendous missed opportunity to address the serious illnesses and deaths of girls and women by eating disorders.
How terribly sad and ironic that a treatable illness to starve oneself, should find the same person denied a feeding tube and starved? Why isn't ANYONE addressing Terri's ten years of BULIMIA? Why isn't her death being used to save others with eating disorders?
My sister's, very 'slim', and very beautiful, 34 year old best friend died of heart failure from bulimia three years ago. No one would listen to my sister's pleas to get her help.
This is about far more than right to die issues. It is also about treating mental illness in one more of its disguises.It is a shame to lose this chance to address eating disorders as a cause of death.
Barb
Hear, hear, Barb! Couldn't agree with you more. An ex of mine was lucky enough to survive bulimia, but moved on to compulsive exercise. She still refuses to get help, unfortunately. It's a crime that the fact that Terri's condition was caused by an eating disorder has been largely overlooked. It might bring some much deserved focus onto this issue.
No one talks about "it". It has been a shame and a huge lost opportunity for the past 15 years not to reach out to the real demon in Terri's case --BULIMIA! What a horrendous missed opportunity to address the serious illnesses and deaths of girls and women by eating disorders.
How terribly sad and ironic that a treatable illness to starve oneself, should find the same person denied a feeding tube and starved? Why isn't ANYONE addressing Terri's ten years of BULIMIA? Why isn't her death being used to save others with eating disorders?
My sister's, very 'slim', and very beautiful, 34 year old best friend died of heart failure from bulimia three years ago. No one would listen to my sister's pleas to get her help.
This is about far more than right to die issues. It is also about treating mental illness in one more of its disguises.It is a shame to lose this chance to address eating disorders as a cause of death.
Barb
Hear, hear, Barb! Couldn't agree with you more. An ex of mine was lucky enough to survive bulimia, but moved on to compulsive exercise. She still refuses to get help, unfortunately. It's a crime that the fact that Terri's condition was caused by an eating disorder has been largely overlooked. It might bring some much deserved focus onto this issue.
posted by Ben at 2:13 PM
5 Comments:
I think the battle for Terri was appalling. I don't get why Michael Shiavo is being demonized. The hypocracy of the religious right is laced through the entire proceedings and has left me disgusted with institutionalized religion. As for Terri's parents: Maybe they wanted to keep Terri alive because they felt guilty for causing her eating disorder. I'm not saying they did cause the disorder, but studies claim over and over again that these eating disorders are rooted in relationships with the parents. I find the parents to be horrible people. How dare they take this issue into politics at the expense of the American public. The issue should have been kept private and not used by Terri's parents and the government to further their own agendas.
If I was Michael, I would not have let them in the room either. Terri's parents appeared (to me) to be vindictive, hateful people who were using their daughter's condition to assuage their own guilt for inferior parenting. Time for the Schindlers to face up to their own demons and let the rest of us have some peace.
Having been involved with someone with an eating disorder, I can say that it is far more complicated than just blaming the parents. I myself feel sorry for the Schindlers, both for their loss and for the trials they've been through. Parents should not have to bury their children. I find it sad, however, that they hung onto their daughter without regard for her wishes.
IMO keeping the parents of a dying child out of the room during her last minutes was evil. They were not hate filled anymore than Michael was. That was cruel and horrible thing to do to someone. Michael has refused to meet the family on equal ground at anytime. Anytime they state they want something, he insists on the opposite. HE is the one with the issues (and a shack-up honey).
Alethea, I agree that keeping the parents from the room was more than just a bit unkind. However, according to reports, the Schindlers were with Terri for the last 10 or 15 minutes. Cold comfort, yes.
As for having "a shack-up honey", the man's wife has been braindead for 15 years. Many people in his situation (men and women alike) would have moved on long before he did.
In my opinion, the only villains in this situation are the ones who had nothing to do with it, i.e. Jeb Bush, Congress, and the obnoxious protesters (from both sides). It never should have gotten to this level of media circus-ness.
But in this country, wasn't it kind of inevitable?
I say let's pull the Pope's feeding tube next. Religion is dead. Our time has come.
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