it's actually a very peaceful, painless way to go when you're that far gone already.

That's good to know. Thanks.

My husband is Caller ID's number one fan, but I *have* to answer a ringing phone. Even if I know it's the same telemarketer who called five minutes ago.

I totally screen the phone and visitors at the door (that is, ignore), because the people who call me can be numbered on the fingers of one hand (everything else is spam), and my building has security, so no one should be knocking that I'm not expecting.

t urban bubble boy

I find a ringing phone almost impossible to not answer.

I always ignore my phone. I don't have caller ID, but I do have an answering maching. My friends know to start talking. If I'm in the mood to chat, I pick up. If not, I don't.

I do have a peephole, but it was made for tall people. It's too high for me to look through.

I do answer the phone , most of the time. But if I am running out the door, or my hands are full, I don't. Siince I should be leaveing this minute, I wouldn't .

Anyone living in LA or NYC can catch "Family Guy Live" soon: [link]

Basically my slave to the phone comment was meant to be followed up with my stating that I mean I will not rush in the door because the phone is ringing. If I can reach a phone, and feel like answering it, I will. if not, I have a machine that does it for me after four rings.

My mom had a special ring code - let it ring once, hang up, call back in 30 seconds - that meant "no, seriously, I need you to pick up the damn phone."

My sister, OTOH, had to go to the hospital and get stitches in her lip once because she took a corner too fast racing to pick up the phone.

We're not much alike, really.

I don't answer the phone unless I know who it is or was expecting a call. I am very happy to have caller ID.

Previously on Death of the DVR, Kara spit on it, it stopped working. It started working. Aidan pushed a button. It stopped working. It started working. It stopped working.

In today's episode, I broke down and called the cable company and asked them how much it would cost to have someone out to fix it. Since the power button won't even come on now, they aren't going to fix it, they're going to replace it. For free. I asked him if he heard me say my daughter spit the contents of her sippy cup into it. He said yes. Free. Within the next half hour to 45 minutes. I'm flabbergasted. I will never say bad things about my cable company again.

I always ignore my phone. I don't have caller ID, but I do have an answering maching.

My gf does this. When I'm over, she frequently feel that the one person she wants to talk to is there. It makes me laugh.

No, it's actually a very peaceful, painless way to go when you're that far gone already. My mother had no food (or feeding tube) for about her last three weeks, and no IV fluids her last week of life once she came home. The body gradually just shuts down, but it's not at all the kind of tortuous experience that it would be for a healthy person.

It's differenct in the Schiavo case, though. This woman is not dying of anything else. She is brain damaged. That's it. When she dies, she will die, because she wasn't fed and kept hydrated, like if I stopped feeding a baby. She's not dying of any injury or disease. She is unable to care for herself, because of the injury. Although the theory is that she was bulemic, there are also bone scans that were done on her, that showed a lot of injuries consistent with abuse.

Her husband cut off her rehabilitative therapy (to teach her to eat and speak again) after they won the malpractice case. *That's* the insurance money that is gone. It was supposed to go toward her care, but a judge okayed its use to pay down the legal bills.

I think, when AmyLiz was talking about insurance, she was trying to make a point about life insurance. AmyLiz is right, that probably wouldn't even be paid out, until after death (sometimes, exceptions are made in the case of catastropic illness--it depends on the policy and I have no idea what's the case in this instance).

The whole thing squicks me. I can't imagine this man fighting this long and hard, unless he was actually fighting for her wishes. Even those of us with good life insurance don't have the kind of life insurance with a payout that makes it worth this long of a battle, one that makes him out to be a villain. I can't imagine there being enough money to entice someone to be so cruel for so long.

On the other hand, I can understand her parents frustration that the husband had denied therapy since the early 90s. I can understand why they don't think he should be her guardian.

Medical testimony on the state of her brain is conflicting. Some experts say she has viable, working tissue left in the affected area. Others say you can't tell. Others say there is none.

I wouldn't want to live like that. I also would hope my husband wouldn't have cut off my rehabilitative therapy, and wouldn't have kept my folks from seeing me. I do have real issues with withholding nutrition from a person who is not otherwise dying. A right to die case for a person with a terminal illness is a lot different than this.