Do you want to be kept alive if you suffered brain damage?

I don't believe this has ever been asked as of late. So, if you had brain damage identical to Terri's, would you want to be kept alive?


(2nd Edit....by popular demand :) )

I have friend whose wife is in the last stages of Alzheimer's and my wife and I both agree that dieing once is bad enough. My daughter is on board as well.

Living wills are in place and I have a copy of Final Exit.

set up.

Brain damaged so my memory isn't what it was? I'll live.

Brain damaged so I'm in PVS like Terri? Let me drift away.

Would you like to be kept alive if you hurt you big toe?

It's not something that causes you to be a vegetable.

Sheesh, talk about bad questions.

be a vegetable.

state.

Much brain damage simply results in some degree of diminished capacity.

I think the question might be better framed this way: if you were in persistent vegetative state, and moost of your cerebral cortex was liquified, would you want to be kept alive on life support indefinitely or would you rather be allowed to die?

:)

If you mean "brain damage identical to Terri's" that's a different question.

Alright here comes another edit.

I mean, in some cases brain damage simply means loss of short term memories, in others it means you have to relearn how to walk, in still others it means you have no cognitive function left whatsoever.

So, I can't answer the question as phrased. If I am damaged to the extent that I can never again walk, talk, emote, eat, or engage in interactions with other living things in any meaningful way, yeah, toast my ass.

Brain damage encompasses a wide spectrum of effects and possible debilitation.

Would I want to be sustained if my cerebral cortex were disintegrated and I had an IQ of 0, as in this woman's case? I suspect that the overwhelming majority of Americans would say no, myself included.

Five years ago I had a stroke. I couldn't speak, or I spoke very poorly. A piece of brain is missing now; replaced by spinal fluid.
(I miss it sometimes :)
My family did not put me out of my misery.
Today I am doing well. Back to work, some driving, shopping and all that.

I type okay because I can edit it, but I can't write like I used to.
I even speak now... just had to relearn a lot of words.
The brain is an amazing organ...

When you are faced with adversity, you can either give up or fight... I chose to fight.
Some people don't even know they have adversity, and that is when a living will and power of attorney becomes necessary.

I'd have to say I agree that you are asking your question
in the wrong way.

I have a living will, by the way, that has my wishes clearly expressed.
I told my family that I have a living will, power of attorney, and final directive.
However, I don't know if my fundie family would try to overrule my beloved on these things.
I would hope NOT.

I'm SHOCKED that so many on DU assume the parents are virtuous and noble and good.

There are so many people out there who wouldn't want their families to ever be the deciding factor.

would you want them to remove the batteries? :bounce:

If the brain is non functioning then I'm already gone.

The bag of meat that moves me around and allows me to interact with this environment is not me.

I have a question, why does it seem that so many 'christians' are terrified of death?

Fundies LOVE to glorify suffering and heart renching situations because their whole belief system is based on someone doing that just for them. That's what it seems like anyway.

It just seems to me that for believers in a faith where this world is a veil of tears and eternal bliss waits on the other side, that fear of death would be minimal.

My wife loves ME, the person, not me, the mass of tissues. If i can't be the person she wants as she knows me, i don't want to burden anybody.

I'm firm on that.
The Professor

If there's hope for me to be able to function, I say hook me up. But after I get hooked up to life support and there's no change for the better, I'd say pull the plug and let me die naturally.

I'd leave it to my loved ones. I'd already be too far gone it wouldn't matter to me. It would be up to them - they would be the ones to suffer emotionally and/or financially. Though after this I'd say I'd like all my loved ones to have a say.

Also, I'd want Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy treatment, Tomatis listening therapy and an intensive rythmic program like Bal-a-Vis-X to see if some of the brain could rebuild. There's a lot of alternative therapy treatment for brain injury that I bet this woman has never gotten. There's also some studies indicating some brain regrowth possible but its controversial. Anyways, I'd want all the alternatives tried before they gave up.

ago when people just died when it was their time to go instead of getting into this mystery science theatre. Pretty soon we will all be brains floating in a glass bottle kept alive.

Eventually they will install a vote for Bush brain in me and while that may be worse than death itself, I would leave just enough distal clues around to start the insurrection! And say it was Jehovah's will! Back from the brain dead!

I'm going to go see a lawyer and talk to all of my relatives. If it's my time, let me go. For them and for me. Closure...

But how do I feel now? Easy: I wouldn't want the resources to be wasted keeping a dead body breathing.

So, I didn't find any category in which to 'vote.'

That's what I'd choose for myself.

And I'd respect the choices others make for themselves.

Thanks for reframing the question. :-)

Am I in a PVS state, then no I don't want to continue to live.
Was it just a little knock on the boggin and I can recover most of my faculties, then yes I'd want to live.

If I were like Terrio, pull the plug, the tube, the iv.....

If I was brain dead for more than a year I think I would prefer to let nature take it's course.

I would want to stay alive for awhile though in the off chance of something medical that could improve or cure my situation.

My last wishes are a mix of medical science and nature.

and that is why my living will has those very wishes documented, signed and notarized. This is something we all need. An ounce of prevention... and all that.