You would know better than I would what it means that Terri has a "flat EEG" and no brain wave activity. If that is the case how can all this other stuff be happening?? How can she be "responding to people" if she has a flat EEG??

Remember also that the videos and photos of Terri that we see are at least ten years old. During that ten years she has recieved no treatment what so ever besides her daily feedings, this has been at Micheal's insistance, so her condition has gotten worse since those pics and videos were taken, but that doesen't mean that her condition couldn't have improved if given the chance. It just means that it hasn't because it wasn't.

You can, therefore, have a flat EEG and still respond.

Terri Shiavo really is the opposite of a coma. I am a former coma patient. I was not awake but had a full EEG, but I could not feed myself or breath..so I was on more machines than her. Terri is awake but with a flat EEG.

Now how much of her interaction is reflex and how much is intentional is a matter of debate.

I have an operating cortex but if you hit my knee..it would move out of reflex. So to say something is a reflex doesnt mean there is no consciousness.

An MRI or PET scan would give more information..but the husband will not allow it.

Many of the videos that are shown on tv are from 2002, and 2003..not quite 10 years old. The parents say she is in that same condition, the husband says otherwise (but will not allow new videos or photos of her to be taken).

I personally doubt that she is in the same condition since she has not had therapy.

I absolutly would have NO problem removing the feeding tube if there were no questions about the intent of the husband and/or written instructions.

Truly the truth will come out in how the husband treats her body. Will he allow a funeral? Will he refuse to give her parents her body? Will he donate the life insurance money to charity as he has told people?

We dont know hardly anything about the brain. Heck, he cant even kill a bacteria!

Both science and ethics asks the question "what is life"? What does it mean to be alive? Is that differant than fully alive?

You have the cortex which is responsible for higher thought and you have the brain stem which is responsible for breathing and your heart rate.

In my case, I had damage to the brain stem and could not breath on my own. But my cortex was functioning... yet I was not awake. Was I alive? Of course.--"good" EEG.

In Terri's case her cortex is damaged (higher functions) but her brainstem is functioning. She is awake. Is she alive? Of course.--no EEG

Christopher Reeve was in between the 2 states. He was awake, yet the brainstem did not function, but his cortex was ok. Was he alive? Of course. He would be identified as physically disabled.--"good" EEG (Steven Hawking would be another example)

A person who is mentally disabled but physically fit could have a damaged cortex but the brain stem is fine. Are they alive? Of course.--EEG "good"

On a side note, you can have someone with epilepsy that has a "bad" EEG. Are they alive? Of course. But there is a temp. disruption of the neuron firing.

***
None of these people are "brain dead".

To be brain dead (my understanding) is to have no functioning cortex OR brain stem.

But at the same time you can be in an accident, have your brain stem damaged beyond repair, your cortex fine..and still you are dead, dead, dead.

Thus, I think truly that the above examples are people who are a "little" alive. If that is possible.

Coma patients, people with epilepsy, people who are mentally disabled, people in wheelchairs, people on machines to breathe, all have brain damage of some type.

But our culture will eventually have to decide, are these people "alive" enough? The risk is that if you take one of these people and say "no", what is to stop the other people from being at risk of being determined as not fully alive also.

There are no clear answers here.

[This message has been edited by Kara Tyson (edited 26 March 2005).]

I knew you could answer my questions. I know this whole thing is a big mess. I didn't know that about you though.

Could you edit out the pic of Chris Reeve it is kind of messing up the framing of the page, it is kind of too big.

Dr Hawkings is, and always has been one of my heros I read a Brief History of Time when I was in 8th grade and loved it and have re-read it a few times since. It is a great gift of his to make the complex seem so simple. This is the mark of a truly gifted teacher.

Have a great Easter if you celebrate.

James