The other people dying in Florida

Watching the circus surrounding Terri Schiavo, I found myself wondering about the OTHER dying patients in the hospice and their families.

Anyone who's had a loved one in a hospice knows what truly wonderful places these are.  The people who work there are real live angels and it's a place where there are no real "rules" as in a hospital.

more. . .

 

A dear friend spent his final days in a hospice.  All of us were encouraged to visit day and night -we brought in food, and wine, and even his beloved cats.  The staff helped us take his hospital bed and all the wires, etc., through the French doors to the outside so he could feel the warm breezes and sun a last few times.  The night before he died, a group of us stayed and they helped us drag mattresses into the room, turning a death vigil into well. .. almost a pajama party.  We sat in the dark and laughed and cried, with nurses joining us off and on.  We celebrated John's life, even as we prepared for his death.  It was a profoundly blessed experience.

So,today I found myself wondering about the mom or dad or son or daughter who are saying their goodbyes in the midst of media and security and chanting and the rest of the obscene spectacle that this has begun.  Do they have to run a gauntlet to get in the building? Are they hunkered down inside, with the shades shut?  And, most importantly - did any of them have to grapple with decisions to stop life support only to hear Michael called a murderer for doing the same?  

Terry Schiavo is close to death.  But she is not the only one.

eileen from OH