Patterico's Pontifications

3/20/2005

L.A. Times: Starving to Death Is a Walk in the Park

Filed under: Dog Trainer,Schiavo — Patterico @ 1:00 am



The L.A. Times hastens to reassure you that Terri Schiavo’s death by starvation and dehydration will not be cruel:

“This is not a cruel procedure,” [Dr. David A.] Goldstein said. “It is unlikely that [Terri Schiavo] will feel pain in any way that we as sapient people will identify. Many family members think it is a very comforting procedure … because this is not the way we think we want to live.”

Of course, Dr. Goldstein has never experienced dehydration and starvation himself. Now listen to the words of someone who has: Kate Adamson. She was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state, and doctors removed her feeding tube. She was aware of everything that was happening to her, and she suffered terribly — and lived to tell about it:

When the feeding tube was turned off for eight days, I was — thought I was going insane. I was screaming out don’t you know I need to eat. And even up until that point, I had been having a bagful of Ensure as my nourishment that was going through the feeding tube. At that point, it sounded pretty good. I just wanted something. The fact that I had nothing, the hunger pains overrode every thought I had. . . . [W]hen Michael [Schiavo] on national TV had mentioned last week that it’s a pretty painless thing to have the feeding tube removed. It is the exact opposite. It was sheer torture . . .

Adamson elaborated to Wesley J. Smith, explaining that starvation was worse than having an abdominal operation with inadequate anesthesia:

The agony of going without food was a constant pain that lasted not several hours like my operation did, but several days. You have to endure the physical pain and on top of that you have to endure the emotional pain. Your whole body cries out, “Feed me. I am alive and a person, don’t let me die, for God’s Sake! Somebody feed me.”

. . . .

I craved anything to drink. Anything. I obsessively visualized drinking from a huge bottle of orange Gatorade. And I hate orange Gatorade. I did receive lemon flavored mouth swabs to alleviate dryness but they did nothing to [slake] my desperate thirst.

How interesting that, in the L.A. Times article, we hear from the reassuring doctor — but not from someone who has actually experienced this agony.

(Wesley J. Smith link via Spoons.)

UPDATE: A version of the Wesley J. Smith article in the Weekly Standard appends the following correction:

The article originally stated that Kate Adamson had been deprived of nourishment in an attempt to end her life. In fact, the dehydration was being done in attempt to alleviate a bowel obstruction. The painful surgery Adamson refers to was originally referred to as surgery to insert a feeding tub[e]. It was actually surgery to remove the bowel obstruction, which is a more involved procedure.

Thanks to commenter Ed at “Oh, That Liberal Media” for the link.

26 Responses to “L.A. Times: Starving to Death Is a Walk in the Park”

  1. […] and lived to tell about it. I told you about Adamson’s experience the other day, in this post. Among other things, she said: When the feed […]

    Patterico's Pontifications » L.A. Times on the “Euphoria” of Being Starved to Death (0c6a63)

  2. Adamson’s story is bogus. A few signs: 1] it does not take “too much” energy to blink. And if you can blink voluntarily, you can make other facial expressions – there is no “blink” center or nerve doing only blinking unless it is a lower reflex arc not involving the [thinking] cerebral cortex; 2] her EEG could not have been flat if she was thinking. Unless it is, a person is not “brain dead”; 3] Adamson makes no mention of hydration. If none is provided, your main problem is thirst, not hunger. Try it for a day. After you get fairly thirsty, you probably do not even get hungry. And you do not last for 7 days alive. Etc.. It sounds more like the Aliens abducted her.

    J. Peden (ffccb8)

  3. I guess I didn’t read far enough down to see Adamson’s note on thirst. Sorry. But, again and moreover, why would anyone want to swab the mouth of someone they were denying hydration to? Etc..

    J. Peden (ffccb8)

  4. Etc.?

    Can you explain to me why this woman would lie about this? Do you know anything about her story? What part do you think she’s lying about??? What’s your theory?

    Is she making the whole thing up out of whole cloth? I.e. she was never diagnosed as being in a PVS — indeed, she was never even sick — but she figured writing a book about it might make her a couple of bucks??

    Or: she was diagnosed as being in a PVS when she wasn’t, and she recovered fully — but she has no recollection of it, because she was really unconscious the whole time???

    Or: she was diagnosed as being in a PVS, and she does vividly recall being starved and dehydrated for eight days — but it was actually a surprisingly pleasant experience, and she’s lying when she claims it wasn’t????

    I’m not getting your argument.

    Patterico (756436)

  5. Patterico: I say Adamson’s story about [conveniently] only being able to communicate by blinking when her husband was around is suspicious, to put it charitably. As is her failure to note thirst without prompting, instead focusing on starvation. These things, to me, are enough to suspect she is mostly trying to sell a book. I did E.R. medicine for 28 years.

    Something was going on medically. But from what her interviews gave, I’m convinced that I don’t want to pursue it. If someone else has done it, and I can access it, I would look at it. [Even reading what the “pro-tube-puller” said in the elaboration started to make no sense to me.]

    Another seemingly small aspect: OReilly couldn’t get the duo to answer a “what happened next” question with something specific, which, again, to me is tilting toward being “telltale” itself.

    I used “etc.” because I don’t think it’s worth my time to get further into it, but not that it’s not worth the time for anyone else who wants to examine it more fully.

    J. Peden (ffccb8)

  6. I really don’t understand that if they removed her feeding tube and she survived why is she whining ? If she did not die and she is alive to write this story then she probably ate a the cafeteria after they pulled the tube . This is a serious matter not to be joked about or used for some cheap self gratification, which many are loading up on these days.

    Art (e7efdb)

  7. Art,

    From your comment, I can tell you didn’t follow the links. You might try clicking on them — then you’ll see what she is “whining” about, as you put it.

    Patterico (756436)

  8. “But, again and moreover, why would anyone want to swab the mouth of someone they were denying hydration to?”

    A few years ago my mother and I went through the process of setting up her living will. The attorney advised us to include a specific provision for wetting the mouth to reduce her suffering.

    Les Jones (92300a)

  9. Yeah, Les, I know it’s the human thing to do, even if minimal. I’d probably do it, too. It just kind of sounds strange to me, to swab the lips but not partially slake or cover up the thirst with drugs, which you would think would be a far greater discomfort. I don’t know.

    J. Peden (ffccb8)

  10. J. Peden,

    It seems to me you’re stretching here to find someone not credible whom you don’t want to find credible. I could be wrong, but that’s the feeling I’m getting.

    Patterico (756436)

  11. I’m not clear on why this is relevant. Obviously, this woman was incorrectly diagnosed in an especially tragic way. Equally obviously, since she can apparently communicate perfectly well now, her cerebral cortex hadn’t disintegrated and been replaced with spinal fluid. Her case sounds like a good reason to be relatively sure before moving forward, but I’ve yet to see any serious grounds for doubt in this case. The point of an fMRI would be to determine whether there was more functionality than had been thought in existing brain tissue. There’s no point when the tissue itself just isn’t there.

    Julian Sanchez (ce85fb)

  12. OK , I apologize . I read the links .Not too fond of the factor same site had nurse accusing husband of many things that were lies . I think this lady misstated her condition . Which was it colma or vegatative state .There is a world of difference .

    Art (e7efdb)

  13. Thanks for the walk in your garden . I am leaving this forum now because all I can do is pickapart the L.A.Times unless I don’t choose to , and then what? Goodbye.

    Art (e7efdb)

  14. So, if I’m correct, this story, of a woman who was paralyzed for 70 days but was able to blink, is being compared to the story of someone who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years and show NO SIGN of any interaction at all??

    Jonne (a63301)

  15. HOPE IS FADING. JUST PRAY.
    Time and options are running out for Terri. Trey Jackson has video of Terri’s brother Bobby at a press conference stating that he is going to recommend his parents not visit anymore because of Terri’s condition. Many readers have noted…

    Michelle Malkin (3ca10e)

  16. You are not correct.

    Patterico (756436)

  17. To all of you above who believe Terri should die because “she’s in a PVS”, she “shows no sign of recovering”, BLAH, BLAH…
    The issue is not whether she can recover. The issue is that 8 years ago a judge asked Mike to give him proof that Terri wanted to die, and Mike said, in effect, “She told me so.” The judge then allowed her feeding tube to be removed….here we are today. That completely contradicts Florida Law!!! Why can’t people see that?! Not only does it contradict Florida law, it also sets a very dangerous precedent. If you doubt that, remember that precedence is the most powerful tool of the legal community. Now anytime a lawyer defends a murderer, he can say, “the deceased told the defendent they wanted to die.” The judge says,”Show me the proof.” The lawyer say, I.Don’t.Have.To. Then refers to Schindler Vs. Schiavo. Think it’s absurd? Just wait.

    Jonathan (109299)

  18. Michael was quoted as saying Teri told him she would not want to have a feeding tube.

    Who says that?!? Surely people are going to say something about a feeding tube NOW, but who said that back then?

    People say, “I don’t want to be resussicitated or I don’t want to be on a ventilator, or life support. But, who says “I don’t want to be fed”? Don’t feed me?

    Also, for those of you that do not feel starvation is painful… think about how your stomach feels if you have not eaten for several hours. I know that I get (and the people in my office that I polled) get headaches after not eating for a period time. People get really sick after being in the sun all day without water. Why, because they are dehydrated. I know how dry my skin gets in the winter, and I am eating and drinking.

    If this was not a painful process, they would not be giving her morphine.

    We would be jailed if we treated an animal like this, how can a human being be treated this way?

    I cannot imagine the pain that Terri is going through.

    May God bless Terri and the Schindler family.

    Crystal (5af31d)

  19. On the swab. There are certain protocals of nursing care. Some that are being denied Terri Schiavo by the way, but just as the doctor has certain things that he is required to do for his license and doing his care properly, so it is with nursing care and doing oral care (the mouth swabs) are part of it. So Mr “I don’t believe her story but am too lazy to look up the basics” there is one of your whiney complaints shot down.

    Noelie (45a4a7)

  20. What bothers me more than anything about this case is the certainty of the medical profession. First of all, it is impossible to know what remedies might exist fifteen years from now. Perhaps we could even regenerate brain cells. Who can know?

    Yet the doctors are certain that she’s brain dead? Certain enough to starve and dehydrate her?

    What the hell happened to the Hippocratic oath?

    antimedia (a1acdf)

  21. And Mr. Schiavo said, “I think I’ll pass on that right now.”when asked by Larry King if he’d be willing to take a lie detector test .C’mon people, what are “we the people” allowing to become legal precedent here. And these idiots who resent the interference of congress in Terri’s death sentence, who say “the gov’t. has no business in this”?? Hey morons, Judge Greer is part of the government and he cleared the way for Terri Schaivo, against her parents wishes, to be starved to death. I think the world’s gone mad.

    Jackie (751161)

  22. I used to wonder how the people in Nazi Germany could stand by while Hitler murdered millions. It is interesting to note that he started with the mentally and physically handicapped people. Now I am horrified to see this happening here! I don’t know how we can ever recover if Terri is murdered.

    Lynda (60c85b)

  23. Terry has the right to live as do we all. *****ATTENTION J.PEDEN**** First off when your body is dehidrated your brain will send your body a signal that imitates hunger. Have you ever eaten and still felt hunger? Thats your bodys way of saying i need something im not getting. Secondly, simply wetting the lips and tongue of someone with a sponge swab wont give the body enough nourishment to keep it alive. Thirdly, Blinking DOES take effort when the body has stopped using its “stored up energy” for something that isnt VITAL!!

    Kat (0de212)

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  25. How can a brain that has been determined over and over again to have no function, “send” any kind of signal?? If it could, wouldn’t it send some other more important signal, like wake up! You have to have brain function to “feel” hunger.Feeling hungry and thirsty is a privilege sent by a functioning brain.

    crys.. (bdd1f5)

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