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Just to put the cost of Pearl's medical care in perspective:
I know that those figues are from 1998. What I found from 2008 for the last year of life medical costs was that the last year of life cost depended on region. In Los Angeles it averaged $93,842 while in Minnesota it was $53,432. Bottom line, that is significantly less than the over 1 million that has already been spent in Pearl Joy's 12 weeks.
It would be better to compare Pearl's costs to those of other brain injuries:
"The life expectancy of most head-injured persons is, as best we know, similar to that of the average individual. For a severe head injury the lifetime costs are over $3 million; for moderate injury, $941,000; and for mild trauma $85,000."
Do we deny care for someone with a severe head injury who may never be able to live independently or make a significant contribution to society?
Should the five year old who contracts meningitis and suffers severe damage be treated differently from a child who is born with a severe brain defect?
Should the child whose defect is diagnosed early enough in pregnancy for abortion to be an option be treated differently from a child whose defect is not apparent until after delivery?
I am pro-choice with regard to abortion. That means I believe that the right to choose not to abort is just as valuable as the right to choose to do so.
The child whose defect is diagnosed in early pregnancy and whose parents choose not to abort gains the same status at birth as the child whose defect is not diagnosed until after delivery. The decision not to abort is not a consideration.
You should. Because charities that are selfless and solely humanitarian can't afford it. It is only those who have an agenda... but I refuse to call them charities.
Doctors Without Borders, Shriners Hospital come to mind, but I would expect them to disciminate between those cases that can improve and those that will not. Keeping a child alive, just for the sake of saying "it's alive" doesn't serve anybody, least of all the childs.
I would provide minimal intervention, and see what transpires.
The baby is entitled to ordinary care just like everyone else:
"Ordinary means include any treatment, medication, or medical procedure which offers a reasonable hope of benefit without excessive burden to the patient. A treatment, for example, that is effective and which does not cause pain, expense, or other burden which is excessive to the patient is ordinary means."
At minimum this means nutrition, hydration, and palliative care as needed.
I can't agree with this, if there is no brain activity to speak of. Nutrition and hydration thru tubes, is not living - spare me.
"The life expectancy of most head-injured persons is, as best we know, similar to that of the average individual. For a severe head injury the lifetime costs are over $3 million; for moderate injury, $941,000; and for mild trauma $85,000."
Do we deny care for someone with a severe head injury who may never be able to live independently or make a significant contribution to society?
Should the five year old who contracts meningitis and suffers severe damage be treated differently from a child who is born with a severe brain defect?
Should the child whose defect is diagnosed early enough in pregnancy for abortion to be an option be treated differently from a child whose defect is not apparent until after delivery?
I am pro-choice with regard to abortion. That means I believe that the right to choose not to abort is just as valuable as the right to choose to do so.
The child whose defect is diagnosed in early pregnancy and whose parents choose not to abort gains the same status at birth as the child whose defect is not diagnosed until after delivery. The decision not to abort is not a consideration.
They KNOW this child will not make it beyond 1 year, if she even makes it that. Should we deny palliative care? No. Is euthanasia okay? No. The question becomes what level of care can be justified beyond that. Contrary to what some people seem to believe, we don't have unlimited resources. That million dollars the state of Tennessee has already paid out in less than 12 weeks is what it cost to educate a little over 125 children for a year.
Doctors Without Borders, claud? Do you know what their mission is? Hint: it's not disabled children in the US.
History & Principles - Doctors Without Borders
**Today, MSF provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.
However, she was and without non-divine intervention, she would have died at birth. So, again IMO, if the parents were really allowing God to exercise his will, Pearl Joy would no longer be with this world - and Tennessee would have a million dollars more in its coffers to spend on children who actually have a chance for a meaningful life.
^^^ I completely agree with this post. If you want to talk about god's will, then don't use science to artificially prolong the life of a baby with so many genetic/medical issues. Or have your church fundraise to pay for these ridiculously high and frivolous medical bills.
They KNOW this child will not make it beyond 1 year, if she even makes it that. Should we deny palliative care? No. Is euthanasia okay? No. The question becomes what level of care can be justified beyond that. Contrary to what some people seem to believe, we don't have unlimited resources. That million dollars the state of Tennessee has already paid out in less than 12 weeks is what it cost to educate a little over 125 children for a year.
I wonder what the cost would be if government wasn't involved in health care?
How about the stories we've heard about babies or grown ups who wouldn't live beyond a year or two and lo and behold they survive and live fruitful productive lives? It's very hard for me to put a price on a human life. I don't have a figure in mind.
I wonder how often does something like this happen?
The model has always been administer care to all humans even by artifical means and its ironic
that this question surfaced of maintaining life when death is inevitable. The other day I had a flash back when working homecare in Milwaukee sparked by a mentally challenged child on a ventilator exiting the special care clinic here in Florida. The childs eyes were rolling and I began to relect on my years of tracheostomy care blah blah. When I worked in homecare I had one extremely difficult private home and its foster kids that was difficult to wrap my mind around. In the house was a child with some degree of brain stem activity . I provided oxygen and apnea monitoring as this child had severe cardiac anomalies. The parent told me she lost one the previous week then showed me a collage on the wall of 15 children their statistics and their coffins and to this day I couldn't handle whether this lady was a saint or a really odd. Let's do saint? I know, thanks for sharing!
Last edited by Rabbidave; 11-01-2012 at 07:59 PM..
Reason: formating/ spelling errors
^^^ I completely agree with this post. If you want to talk about god's will, then don't use science to artificially prolong the life of a baby with so many genetic/medical issues. Or have your church fundraise to pay for these ridiculously high and frivolous medical bills.
They already had a fundraiser to buy a new van. How much can you ask of them?
The model has always been administer care to all humans even by artifical means and its ironic
that this question surfaced of maintaining life when death is inevitable. The other day I had a flash back when working homecare in Milwaukee sparked by a mentally challenged child on a ventilator exiting the special care clinic here in Florida. The childs eyes were rolling and I began to relect on my years of tracheostomy care blah blah. When I worked in homecare I had one extremely difficult private home and its foster kids that was difficult to wrap my mind around. In the house was a child with some degree of brain stem activity . I provided oxygen and apnea monitoring as this child had severe cardiac anomalies. The parent told me she lost one the previous week then showed me a collage on the wall of 15 children their statistics and their coffins and to this day I couldn't handle whether this lady was a saint or a really odd. Let's do saint? I know, thanks for sharing!
If you're going to copy n paste, edit the text.
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