Doctors pushed paralyzed Irish man to refuse ventilator and die
by Hilary White
Tue Apr 12, 2011 13:00 EST
Simon Fitzmaurice with his wife and children.
Ruth Fitzmaurice and Cyril Byrne
DUBLIN, April 12, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a powerful op-ed in today’s Irish Times, an Irish man with degenerative motor neurone disease (MND) has revealed how he was heavily pressured by the medical community to refuse the ventilator that is keeping him alive.
After having been admitted to intensive care for pneumonia, a common complication for paralyzed patients, Simon Fitzmaurice began receiving assisted breathing and a feeding tube. Shortly after being admitted, Fitzmaurice said, a doctor came in and told him it was rare and expensive for patients to have a ventilator at home.
The doctor told him, with his wife and mother present, “That it is time for me to make the hard choice. He tells me that there have only been two cases of invasive home ventilation, but in both cases the people were extremely wealthy.”
“He looks at me. ‘This is it now for you. It is time for you to make the hard choice, Simon.’ My mother and my wife are now holding each other, sobbing.” Click "Here" for the complete article.
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This is another heartfelt and touching example of the value of life in today's society. Simon Fitzmaurice has been pressured by the medical profession to remove his ventilator and just die. However, Simon is not ready to give up the battle because of his loving family and friends.
This is another example of where "Money" talks....if you are wealthy you can prolong your life, but if you are not-- it's time to pull the plug! What is the value of a human life today? Euthanasia and assisted suicide are becoming a norm in this world we live in.
Let us pray for those who are not healthy and those who are disabled because they are all vulnerable to those who have control over life and death. Those who believe that humane life is no longer sacred and that when a person has no "value" to society and becomes a "burden" then it's time to put them to sleep like a "family pet". I want to tell you my friends...THIS IS NOT GOD'S WILL! God's Judgement will prevail.