A week ago, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition was successful in helping the friends of Joshua (Kulendran Mayandy) gain permission to have Joshua orally fed. Joshua was then able to feed orally without complications, but any other form of feeding (IV or otherwise) continued to be denied. We helped by organizing legal and medical support and a media response to his case throughout North America.
A couple of days ago, Joshua had a seizure. He is now in a semi-coma state and unable to feed orally.
He is not receiving any fluids or nutrition by IV or any other means.
He also appears to be experiencing kidney failure.
It is anticipated that he will die within the next couple of days.
Please pray for Pastor Joshua, his family, friends and members of the Church.
Alex Schadenberg
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
euthanasiaprevention@on.aibn.com
I can't help thinking that if only he had received the proper care all along, it may not have come to this.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly, Deborah.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that this minister wasn't considered to be one of "the fittest," so that his "survival" was chosen as one to have been discouraged all along?
Not that he would have actively been euthanized--hopefully, we haven't come to that yet--but just that certain subtle things were done to stack the deck against him.
This kind of thing gets done all of the time with one unstellar example being to give orders not to give therapy to a patient who would benefit from it. Even if therapy is resumed later, it might be just too little too late.
I know of a case where the person's power-of-attorney (who got into this position in the first place through lies told by one person or another)actually gave those kinds of orders. If not, then, somebody else did and made him the scapegoat. Anyway, I believe that the person who mattered most of all might be alive today had it not been for this and other delays.
I don't know what caused this seizure. I would like to rule out dehydratoin asthe cause if possible. I know dehydration can cause seizures. I am sure that after days with minimal food and water, a few days of oral feeding were less than what he needed.
ReplyDelete"William Burke, MD, PhD, Professor at Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, as quoted in Wesley Smith's article 'A 'Painless' Death?,' which appeared in the Nov. 11, 2003 Weekly Standard, explained:
'A conscious [cognitively disabled] person would feel [the removal of a feeding tube] just as you or I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes, and heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water! Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death.'
Nov. 11, 2003 - William Burke, MD, PhD "
I took the above quote from http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000169
"gain permission to have Joshua orally fed" -- Does this mean that the patient was CAPABLE of taking nutrition & hydration orally but the SDM decided to refuse even oral nutrition & hydration?
ReplyDeleteAre these all true statements:
ReplyDelete(1) The patient was physically capable of taking nutrition and hydration orally
(2) The SDM refused oral hydration and nutrition on the patient's behalf
(3) The SDM later agreed to oral hydration and nutrition
Dear Thaddeus:
ReplyDeleteJoshua was able to feed orally, but the amount of feeding was minimal due to his swallowing capacity.
Before he had a seizure, he was being fed by a nurse who was a member of the faith community.
I am going to Joshua's funeral today.
I'm so sorry that this was the outcome. Although I believe that this saint is now in Heaven, I still don't think that it was time for him to go there and that he was MURDERED!!!
ReplyDelete