Posted on 05/13/2011 11:07:11 AM PDT by wagglebee
NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia, May 12, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Australian woman who was declared “brain dead” regained consciousness after weeks of fighting doctor recommendations that her ventilator be shut off, according to a report in the Northern Territory News yesterday.
Fifty-six-year-old Gloria Cruz was rushed to Royal Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory of Australia on March 7, after having a stroke in her sleep.
When a CAT scan revealed that Cruz was most likely suffering from a brain tumor, she underwent surgery in what initially appeared to be an unsuccessful attempt to save her life.
“The moment I saw my wife in the ICU I thought I’d collapse,” Gloria’s husband, Tani Cruz said, according to Northern Territory News. “I couldn’t believe that I was looking at the woman I have loved for 27 years. She was not my wife. Her face was swollen. Her hair was gone. Tubes were inserted in her mouth. There was a tube in the top of her head. Another in her hands. And she was lying almost lifelessly.”
Doctors told Mr. Cruz that his wife would die within 48 hours, calling her situation “hopeless.” They recommended that the ventilator that was keeping her breathing be removed.
While Cruz stalled the decision, he was contacted by a social worker and a “patient advocate” who urged him to remove the ventilator and allow his wife to die.
“I told him that God knows how much I love her - that I don’t want her to suffer but I don’t want her to leave us,” Cruz said. “I’m a Catholic – I believe in miracles.”
After two weeks, he allowed them to shut off the ventilator, but insisted that a breathing tube be inserted in her mouth so that she could continue breathing on her own.
Three days later, Gloria Cruz defied the medical experts and woke from her coma. According to her husband, she is now alert, mobile, and on her way to recovery.
“We have a strong faith and always believed that God would help us,” said Cruz.
An increasing number of experts have begun calling into question the “brain death” criteria for determining death. They argue that brain death is an arbitrary set of criteria developed largely to ensure the usability of organs harvested from such patients, as well as to decrease the medical costs involved in keeping “brain dead” patients alive on life support.
A number of incidents have seemed to confirm this view, including one particularly chilling case in which a young man declared “brain dead” actually heard doctors discussing harvesting his organs. Minutes before being wheeled into the operating room to have his organs removed, he woke up.
I think the confusion was in the wording that Spudx7 used, I am not aware of any pro-life groups that support live organ harvesting and most are very hesitant about organ donation to begin with because of the ethical issues.
I will NEVER sign an organ donor card, though I have no problems with someone having my organs once I'm ACTUALLY DEAD.
What I recall NOOBIE is that the doctor that did the autopsy said you can’t declare whether a brain functioned or not WHEN IT IS DEAD.
The first sentence is so poorly written, it makes it sound like the comatose woman was fighting with the doctors instead of her husband.
Anyways, I have a cousin who recovered from a long coma, and she is now happily married with children. This is one of the reasons I won’t check the organ donor card, because I think that motivates the hospitals to encourage even more strongly for life support to be removed in situations like this. They only harvest organs from people who are still alive, which is why they need this “brain dead” category to justify what they are doing.
Thank you for posting this. These stories need to get read. The account of the young man being wheeled in to have his organs removed but woke up in time - horrifying!!!
That’s why I hate organ donation.
“making the case that organs must be harvested from a living person...”
Yes, I think this is correct. Within minutes the heart stops beating, the body’s cell release their digestive enzymes and start breaking themselves down, and I don’t think that process can be reversed once it has started.
Of course it is a very “relative” term but when used in westernized nations, particularly in the U.S. it is generally being used by someone that has made the God-like judgement that the patient will never function normally (by our society’s definition); contribute to or pursue life fully. Therefore they are better off dead.
Terri Schiavo was murdered, not because of the quality of her life though, that term and brain death were cleverly used to appease onlookers. Something drove that murderous husband of hers to wipe her off the face of the planet. IIRC the details surrounding her condition and how it happened were very suspect along with the fact that another woman was involved with him. I don’t remember if there was insurance money involved (maybe you remember that WB) but there was more to the story then what we will ever know imo.
The horrifying thing is that it was allowed by the state (sanctioned murder); especially horrifying since her family was willing to be the main caregiver.
“While Terri Schiavo was being murdered I distinctly remember being told that people with brain injuries like these NEVER recover.”
I remember a disgustingly large number of FReepers here saying the same thing.
Especially Jeb, but both Bushes were at fault. Either could have saved her.
Sorry for the confusing wording, it was a brochure showing the dark side of organ harvesting. My time at the computer is very limited and is spent with a wiggling baby on my lap, so I type as quickly as possible.
No problem, I was almost positive that's what you meant.
They have been trying to change the 'donor' acceptance to mean if you do not specifically have NO DONOR on your license, they can harvest. Be very specific.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7254855_opt_out-system-organ-donation_.html
He spent all of her money killing her.
Nobody will ever know what exactly happened to her the night of her original accident. What we do know is that she WAS NOT bulimic, she DID NOT drink several gallons of iced tea, but her "husband" WAS VERY ANGRY that she had spent a lot of money getting her hair done that day.
We also know that her "husband" refused to divorce her even though he had children with another woman and we know that his parents died in a manner similar to Terri>
Ahh yes, now I remember. Thank you. I just remember feeling helpless and somewhat overwhelmed at the reaction of some people I knew. Of course many felt the way we did...that it was a televised murder.
Thanks again WB.
While Terri Schiavo was being murdered I distinctly remember being told that people with brain injuries like these NEVER recover.
I hope people involved in that horrendous deed have many sleepless nights. I am still haunted by what happened. It was sort of like a piece of humanity died with Terry.
How can a "brain dead" person experience "euphoria"? The two conditions are totally incompatible.
May he burn for eternity in hell
At the time, Fox News was showing clips, provided by the family, that clearly showed Terri ‘responding’ to certain things. She clearly was cognizant/aware (perhaps limited but since she couldn’t speak we can’t know to what degree) Of course the normal parade of ‘experts’ were filed out and ‘interviewed’ stating that everything was more or less ‘reflex’ and strongly disputed that what we saw was actually a response to anything.
My SIL has me as her health proxy (or whatever that’s called) if she is on life support she knows I’ll pull the plug - because she knows my brother won’t - I haven’t the heart to tell her I won’t pull the plug either :>)
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