Alot. You see I am the mother of a special needs child. Who determines if he should live or die just because he can’t do the things most people consider "quality of life" issues. Honestly, he seems more content than most people I know on any given day. Sure, he can’t walk or talk and he needs help to eat but does that mean he isn’t fit to live. Well, that is how I see this case with Terri Schiavo. It’s not like she needs a life support machine to live, its just a feeding tube. She is alive. If it was a machine keeping her alive I would agree with the masses and say unplug. But its not! She is alive on her own she just needs help to eat. So the world is crying out ‘let her starve to death’ and unplug that feeding tube. What the heck is this all about? Afraid of people unlike themselves? Can deal with the reality of brain damage so let’s get rid of these folks and its easy…just stop feeding them? Her families website states "Terri is purposefully interactive, alert, curious, lovely young woman who lives with a very serious disability. She lives free of any life support machines and receives nutrition through a tube that is connected only at meal times. "
I don’t know about you but I’ll be fighting just as hard to keep my son on that tube because HE IS ALIVE! I myself won’t not want to be on a life support machine and would not attempt to keep my family members on that either but to say since you need my help to eat and since I want to get on with my life, you’ll now starve is a horrible way to treat a very disabled person. What is wrong with America. Sure, it is way more important to save the whales, send millions to the disappearing orangutans but for the love of _____(you fill in the blank) get those terribly needy disabled folks out of our world. You better hope no one in your family or worse, YOU don’t get in some accident where you are rendered disabled…because in America…not many would want you around.
The saddest part of this whole thing is that if it was a Latino family no one would know about it right now and if they did, would they care? Looking at this situation, I would bet those chances would be slim to none.
My 4 year-old son Judah has been praying almost every night for Samuel C. since his diagnosis this summer. Last week, he and I were looking at pictures of Sam online when I remembered you have pics of DJ here too. So we visited your blog and you had just posted this entry. Anyway, tonight before bed Judah prayed from Samuel as he always does, and then paused to ask me DJ’s name so he could pray for him too. Our prayers are with you.