Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!Earl.Appleby
From: Earl.Appleby@hnews.fidonet.org (Earl Appleby)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: My Father's Wishes
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Date: 30 Jan 91 19:21:33 GMT
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Index Number: 13260

In his recent message to me, Frank Whitney quotes my message to Pandora Nigh:

>>Me:  Let me get this through your head for once and for all.  For the 
>>     Appleby's there is no kind of life, only life, a gift from God.  As 
>>     my brother Dwight [now in Desert Shield...],
       now Desert Storm
>>     says, "He's the same Dad. He has the same soul."

 FW> If your father would have been able to have had a say in the
 FW> situation I wonder what his views would have been.

Frank, as you might imagine, this was a question that was asked of my
Mom, my brother, my sister, and I on numerous occasions throughout my
Dad's nearly 10 years of life in coma.  Generally, it was thrown at us
by some anti-life doctor when they were trying to push us or split our
family in pursuit of their objective to kill my father.  This type of M.D.
(merchant of death) assumes he knows the answer in advance because everyone
in coma wants to be starved to death, all "handicapped" people live half
lives, etc., etc.  I'm sure you know this kind of bigot.

Interestingly enough, when my Dad was recovering from his first bout
with cancer, he made a tape opposing a euthanasia bill in our NH state
legislature.  We had it in my father's hospital room during his last
hospitalization when they were running a Saddam Hussein operation on us
for standing by him.  Out of ten doctors involved in his case, guess how
many would spend the 8 minutes to listen to what my father's wishes
actually were?  (Mind you they'd spend a half an hour at a clip trying
to convince us to throw the dirt on him as if he was already in his
grave.)

Hint: the number times 1,000,000 is still the same...That's right zero!
     
I brought a printed transcript of my father's testimony.  Guess how many
would take it to read at their leisure?  Same question--same answer!

Come to think of it the professional politicos in the legislature didn't want
to listen either.  Dad was struggling for each breath so soon after
surgery and each time the tape would pause they were ready to gavel him
down.  After my father's testimony, they passed a rule disallowing any
further tape testimony.  (I consider it one of many tributes paid my
father's living witness for life.)

However, if anyone on this echo has 8 minutes and the interest to listen
with an open mind, I would be pleased to send him/her a copy of the tape
or the transcript.  I can be reached here or at CURE...

My sympathies to your mother and you, Frank, on the loss of your father.

Earl

... Where there's life, there's hope.  (CURE: 304-258-LIFE)
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