Curtis Neely managed to survive after his wife disconnected his life support. Here is his story:
I am a SEVERELY BRAIN-DAMAGED man who was nearly killed in an accident and spent two months on life-support. I had a feeding tube! A machine even BREATHED for me!My wife just knew - as her husband thinks he does - that I would not wish to live on machines.
My wife did a "Do-Not-Revive" order and had the respirator disconnected.
As I lay there and the respirator was turned off, my brother held my hand. I was supposed to die. He says that I squeezed his hand. I began to breathe on my own but barely. The doctors told my brother and my parents that it was “normal” for a person to seem to squeeze as they died. They were told my oxygenation would slowly decrease till I died. A neuro-surgeon was brought and asked me how many fingers he held up and I raised two fingers. He asked me to give him a thumbs-up and I did. They were all amazed and life-support was returned as needed. My wife was grieving my death in the hospital chapel already and was simply amazed! She had been told that I would die.I was estimated to have AT BEST the mental abilities of a toddler. I was one an ETREMELY smart man but did not type much as a toddler! Due to my “diffuse axonal” brain injury I have forgotten most of my past. A court already declared me incompetent and my LOVING wife is now my guardian. She is surrendering her life to ministry. I may have said that I wouldn’t want to live as a vegetable as my wife said I had. How many would actually choose living years on a machine over a painless death! My wife never lies and would not say I chose to be disconnected if I had not!
It is extremely obvious that life would have been easier for her had I died. I had a stroke and was left a T-9 paraplegic. I type this with one hand because I lost most use of one arm. My LOVING wife emptied my bladder and colon for two years. I am nowhere near the man I once was. My wife still cries over loosing the man I once was. That annoys me a little. I am NOT glad that I am a paraplegic and brain-damaged. I delivered my daughter into the world according to others but I have no memory of it. Who would have ever forgotten that? I can recognize my daughter but have no memories of her! DANG!
One of the leading causes of death in paraplegics is suicide! Every day I choose to live! I may have at one time felt living connected to a machine was worse than death, but I had never tried it! I have now! I have lived in a vegetative state! Although I hope to just die quickly with no pain, I now choose to live by ANY means God provides. I STILL feel it was a loving act of my wife to disconnect me when she did! It is hard to imagine loving anyone enough to give them up as dead. It would be even if the loved one thought it might be better in certain cases!
Curtis, what a wonderful story! You need to get your story out there to as many people as possible. God bless you, God bless your wife and may you live a very long, happy loving life. You're an inspiration.
It was wonderful of you to share your story. It is an inspiration of strength and faith to us all. Both you and your wife are obviously incredibly strong people. May God continue to bless you both.
I just had a thought. I think I know what possible benefit Terri's death will have in the minds of Felos and the pro-euthanasia crowd: they will use her death itself, not just the growing conviction of new euthanasia supporters from this case.
First of all, let me clarify that there is a growing sympathy for euthanasia because of this issue. This comes from misrepresentations by the court of Greer, by George Felos, and by mainstream media. In any case, the attitudes of people are being changed as this case progresses. How? By keeping the lingering death of Terri in everyone's mind, in the background, where it can make the most impact. By lying through their teeth about the painlessness of starvation and dehydration, they are in fact reinforcing those thoughts, scaring everyone out of their wits at the possibility that they or their loved ones will suffer the same fate.
How will they use Terri's actual death? Think of it as a trigger that they can use to drive home their point. Euthanasia advocates in the media and government will probably start talking about what a shame Terri's mode of death was and start hammering in legislation for more humane forms of euthanasia. They'll say things like "if only we had more humane modes of euthanasia in legislation, this wouldn't have gone the way it did."
Make no mistake, the next time someone's turn is up, there won't be enough time to make appeals against the legal guardian's maneuverings. They might already have quick and "humane" euthanasia methods enshrined in law by then.
That's why Terri's survival of this attempted murder is so important.
Actually let me correct that: that's ANOTHER reason why Terri must live. The first and foremost reason for Terri to live is her life itself: it is being taken away from her unjustly, against her wishes and against logic.