I was struck that in one week we see two cases where the question on extraordinary
measures being used to sustain the lives of two people who decades earlier would certainly have died without current medical technology.
Mine survivor's condition improving : UPI
Doctors say the condition of the sole survivor of a West Virginia mine explosion is dramatically improving.
Randal McCloy Jr. was transferred Saturday night from Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh to the West Virginia hospital where he was originally treated so he can be closer to his family, CNN reported.
In the accident at the mine on Monday January 2, the miners all suffered from the loss of oxygen. Carbon monoxide had built up in the area where they waited for a rescue.
Even though he was so close to death that his kidneys shut down (and as I write this, kidney function has not recovered), they want to keep him alive without a certainty of the restoration of his cognitive ability.
Report: Sharon Likely to Suffer Impairment : AP
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chances for survival from his massive stroke are "very high," but he likely will suffer some cognitive impairment, a broadcast report quoted one of his surgeons as saying Saturday.
Sharon suffered a stroke on January 4. Some news reports where quick to call Sharon's medical outcome likely vegetative
(Google News Search of Sharon+vegetative)
Both men are in medically induced comas.
I pray for full recovery of Mr. McCloy and Mr. Sharon. I hope that it will be disclosed if they had given instructions to family members what to do in the event of their incapacity to make medical decisions.
The treatment of these cases -- giving them the full dignity and rights of human beings -- is a contrast to the "pull the plug" arrogance as people took Michael Schiavo's side when Terri's parents simply wanted to provide food and water for the remainder of her life.
Do people with limited cognitive ability have a right to live until the end of their natural life?
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