Posted on 06/28/2007 3:58:52 PM PDT by wagglebee
CHANDLER, Arizona, June 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Written off by doctors as a hopeless “vegetable”, an Arizona man would not now be on his way to recovery from an accident caused by a marital quarrel if not for his family’s unrelenting struggle for his life.
The Arizona Republic reports that on Wednesday, Jesse Ramirez, awoke from his nearly month long persistent vegetative state (PVS) and now “can hug and kiss, nod his head, answer yes and no questions, give a thumbs-up sign and sit in a chair.”
If not for the past few weeks’ legal battles that ended Tuesday with a favorable settlement for him and his family, Jesse Ramirez, who depended on feeding tubes for food and water, would certainly have died in circumstances very similar to the tragic 2005 death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo.
On May 30, Jesse Ramirez and his wife Rebecca Ramirez were quarreling in their SUV when he lost control and crashed into a pottery market, ejecting them both from the vehicle. Ramirez suffered a broken neck and major head-trauma, while his wife had only minor injuries.
Just before the accident, Rebecca had attempted to jump from the moving vehicle saying she was afraid of her husband, who accused her of marital infidelity. Police have yet to determine what exactly led Ramirez to lose control of the wheel.
Ten days after the accident and Ramirez’s PVS diagnosis, Rebecca ordered the hospice where he was staying to remove his feeding tubes on June 8. Ramirez family then began pleading with her to let them try and save his life.
“I'm asking you for the biggest favor of my life,” Jesse’s father told her. “Can you give my son another chance?” Jesse Ramirez Sr. told the Arizona Republic she then hung up on him.
In desperation, the family turned to the Scottsdale-based Alliance Defense Fund, which challenged the prudence of allowing Rebecca to arbitrate her husband’s fate, considering their recent marital strife.
“We've got to make sure the decision-maker is the very best and most capable one,” senior counsel Gary McCaleb told the Arizona Republic. “She said she was in fear of her life. Ten days later, she's going to say whether he lives or dies? Frankly, it's too much to ask of the wife.”
Maricopa County Superior Court judge Paul Katz agreed and ordered the tubes reconnected while an independent attorney mediated between Rebecca Ramirez and Jesse’s family and talked to Jesse's doctors. Then Tuesday Katz ruled that a court-appointed guardian would make decisions for Ramirez while the court continued to investigate his health.
“As we have discussed here previously, PVS is often misdiagnosed. More importantly, it can't be done accurately after only a few weeks post trauma. So, why the rush in this case to write the man off?” commented bioethics expert and author Wesley J. Smith on his blog. “This much is sure: But for parents willing to fight for his life, Ramirez would be dead today rather than entering the rehabilitation unit.”
I’ve see videos of Terri Schiavo, and she was not in a coma.
I saw one of her laughing at her dad’s joke.
MSM has so misled the public.
A great story.
I guess all these professionals conveniently weren’t available in 2000, since the court decision makes no mention of testimony disputing the images of the CAT scan.
I have always found it odd that FReepers who understand how much blatantly agenda-driven the media is are so willing to accept their erroneous accounts of Terri’s condition.
Perhaps you should read this:
http://www.judgegeorgegreer.com/
And let me ask you something, how is it that a woman who was so brain damaged, as you claim, able to experience the “euphoria” that Michael Schiavo’s lawyer claimed?
Oh yeah! That would do it. But I think the FRiberals hated you even before that.
Read some of the stuff here:
http://www.judgegeorgegreer.com/
Terri was awarded money for her rehabilitation, it was NEVER used for that. The moment he got the check, her estranged husband moved her into the hospice and started court proceedings to kill her.
Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.
-- Matthew 5:10-12
Satan speaks ill of all that is good. Just look at the nasty things he’s saying about Terri on this thread. I don’t understand why anyone would allow Satan to speak through them.
Here is more on Terri’s autopsy, it is VERY DIFFERENT from what was reported in the mainstream media:
http://terrisfight.org/mainlinks.php?tablesingle=main_terri_story&id=2
There you go supplying actual documents again. How are the disruptors supposed to convince lurkers of their made-up diagnoses (like “dissolved brain”) when you supply the actual autopsy report?
You mean like the years Terri spent in a coma?
It’s much easier for some to accept what they’re told than it is to question it’s validity. And then when the unjustifiable actions become government policy, they can just claim they were following orders.
I wonder if they realize that this excuse didn’t seem to work at the Nuremberg Trials.
“I wonder how the culture of death FRiberals will try to explain this away.”
They don’t care.
So many lessons here.
It certainly seems one’s fate (life or death) depends on which state a person is in (say, for instance, Arizona vs. Florida).
“She said she was in fear of her life. Ten days later, she’s going to say whether he lives or dies? Frankly, it’s too much to ask of the wife.”
I don’t see a lot of room between this situation and the Schiavo case.
This is another excellent reminder to wear your car’s seat belt.
Yes, it makes a big difference in your odds of survival. You might be surprised to know that your odds are actually better in Florida than in Arizona. Arizona starves and dehydrates a higher percentage of their disabled population than Florida does.
In 1999, 10.4% of the “severely” cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.
In 2000, 11.0% of the “severely” cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.
In 2001, 11.4% of the “severely” cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.
I haven't found data yet for other years, but I think it's a fair guess that the killings continue to climb.
This doesn't represent a percentage of patients who died (which would be bad enough). It doesn't mean that 11.4% of the patients who died were starved and dehydrated. It means 11.4% of all the people living in the U.S.A. with “severe” cognitive impairments were killed this way. And it doesn't include the ones who were killed using other methods, such as denial of antibiotics for simple infections, cessation of kidney dialysis, removal of breathing assistance, etc. There are some very barbaric methods being used.
The standard used for determining “severe” cognitive impairment for the purpose of this study is a score of 5 or less on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Patients in a coma or PVS cannot possibly score 1, much less 5. You've probably seen people in the grocery store with a score of 5 or less. So these killings include a wide range of brain damaged people. I wonder how many thousands of people are living with a score of 5 or less. And for every 1,000 people living with a score of 5 or less in the year 2001, 114 of them were starved and dehydrated to death that year.
All I have before me are the percentages. I'd like to see the corresponding numbers. Or would I?
Following is the breakdown by state for 2001. Notice that Rhode Island tops the list, with just over a third of that population exterminated this way. That might have something to do with the fact that RI has appointed the pro-euthanasia group Choice in Dying the official State agency in charge of informing the public about “end-of-life choices.” They supply forms for “living wills” and “assist” the public in filling out those forms. This is what happens when you put the fox in charge of the henhouse.
Believe it or not, Florida and Texas are both below the national average. Every state is on the list. Georgia is at the bottom of the list, exterminating only 1.30% this way. But like I said, this doesn't include people who were exterminated using other methods.
RI - 33.80%
OR - 32.50%
MI - 28.30%
MT - 28.00%
WI - 27.20%
CA - 23.40%
UT - 23.40%
AZ - 20.90%
PA - 17.40%
MN - 17.20%
AK - 17.10%
CT - 15.40%
WY - 14.90%
MD - 14.60%
NM - 14.20%
SD - 14.10%
WA - 13.20%
OH - 12.90%
ID - 12.30%
IA - 12.10%
MO - 11.90%
National Average - 11.4%
VT - 11.20%
HI - 11.10%
DE - 10.80%
ND - 10.80%
MA - 9.90%
IN - 9.70%
ME - 9.20%
NH - 8.70%
NY - 8.50%
NE - 7.70%
CO - 7.20%
AL - 7.10%
TX - 7.10%
IL - 6.70%
WV - 6.70%
KY - 6.60%
SC - 6.50%
TN - 6.30%
FL - 6.20%
NV - 6.20%
AR - 5.70%
NC - 5.20%
KS - 4.80%
NJ - 4.80%
OK - 4.10%
LA - 3.70%
VA - 3.60%
DC - 3.10%
MS - 3.00%
GA - 1.30%
Facts On Dying ~ This study was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who adamantly opposes the rights of vulnerable people to continue living. So if any trolls show up, complaining that the data is skewed in favor of life, check the facts and get back to me.
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