Pope John Paul II
I think most of us knew this was going to happen with the Pope’s health deteriorating over the last few months. It didn’t really hit me until Easter Sunday when for some reason I got the distinct feeling that he was going to die, and there was no question in my mind about it. I have prayed about it all week, and kept seemingly getting the same answer in my head that it is God’s will. While most of my family are Catholics, I don’t claim to be one myself, I am one of God’s Children, a Christian, no other title needed, at least not as far as I’m concerned. Over the years I have had mixed feelings about the Papacy and Catholic Church, however at this time I would like to share my feelings about the Pope and what he meant to me. I have read in the past on several web sites about the Pope being the anti-Christ, and never once even put in my head that it was even possible. I look at his face and all I can seem to see is joy and love. It’s almost as if it just emanates from him. I truly feel as if this man, weather he had been named Pope or not would have been a true blessing to anyone he had come in contact with. His love of humanity was never ending. I’m sure just to be in his presence was a thing to be never forgotten. I have only ever seen him on TV and on the news, but have at most times felt a rather odd connection to him, as I’m sure a lot did. His friends have said that he was a kind and generous man, always loving to anyone he came in contact with, forgiving of those who needed to be forgiven, and not judging to those with different beliefs. He treated everyone as a member of his family, a brother or sister. What a concept, it’s something we should all strive to do on a daily basis. Jesus said that the most important of the commandments is love, and if that was followed, all the other commandments would fall into place. I do believe the Pope followed this to a tee. Undying love of God and of humanity is what he meant to me. Peace be with you Pope John Paul II, you may have left us physically, but your mark has been well made upon us all, we shall not forget you.
More on Flood
Just another update. Accroding to news reports Dale County, Alabama is no longer under a flood warning. I have no idea as to what the levels of the river are today, or when it will crest and the change will be made back to Flood Warning, it was suspected that it would crest on Sunday, Monday at the latest. When I drove home from work yesturday (after worrying I wouldn't make it because of the possible flooding and the whopping 8 inches of rain we received) there was minor flooding, but the river had risen substantially since the drive in to work. I meant to take a quick trip down to the river today to check it out myself being that I missed the news last night due to my sister calling, however I didn't make it. I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days. I will be sure to watch the news this evening and possibly go down tomorrow and get some pictures if it's necessary and update everyone
More On Terri
It’s hard to believe what a subject like this does to people’s belief system. I belong to a faith related email group and received 45 messages today on the argument of weather or not Terri should have been able to continue living, or to let her go. The heated discussion began when someone relayed that he believed that Terri had left us long ago and was with the Father in heaven. Then began the comments about how her soul couldn’t have left her body if her heart was still beating, that she recognized people around her and reacted to them in different ways, that her husband didn’t want her to recover because then Terri would let the word out that he was the one that caused her medical problems, she was breathing on her own, functioning, just needed help eating, on and on it goes. Don’t get me wrong, all of these arguments are quite persuasive, but what has to be understood is that not one of us can really say as to weather or not any of these things are factual. We are only given what the media wants us to know, and even the web sites out there that were/are fighting for Terri’s cause are giving out information that is hearsay at best. Unless each of us as individuals are in this position ourselves, know the facts and both sides of the story (that is IF the truth is told), there really is no way of knowing anything. The only one who can really have all the facts and know the reasons for any of this is GOD period.
I absolutely believe that all this has happened for a reason, and that the outcome will probably not be what most of us want. Terri’s body is now dead, and her soul or whatever you would like to call it is with God. I do stick to what I said; I think that she has been with God all this time. As to weather the soul can leave the body when it’s still alive, I suppose it depends on how you define the subject. To say that you can’t commune with God in heaven while your soul is still on earth (or within a body) to me is insane. How many times have you read about people in comma’s (some not being Christian’s) having encounters with God that they can’t fully explain because to them it was like a dream? These people are quite alive, and still have their souls intact, but perhaps their spirit is what brought them to meet with God. Just as an example, you can have a soul, however you can be taken by an evil spirit at any time without even realizing it and do horrible things. I suppose you can boil it down to the old “the devil made me do it” scenario. I guess I should have taken the time to think the subject matter out before writing my last entry and stating that Terri’s soul was with God, I do however believe that her spirit was and is.
It’s been pointed out to me that there is a difference between being brain dead and having brain damage. Brain death I have learned after doing some research on the matter is something you do not recover from, you are dead while your organs may still be functioning. Basically you are kept alive by machines, but there is no activity in your brain and no hope of coming out of the state. At least, according to the AMA there have been NO instances of anyone ever recovering from brain death. Brain damage comes in different forms, caused by different things. Basically if the brain goes for several minuets without oxygen (witch is what occurred with Terri due to heart attack) than a person will incur some brain damage, meaning certain neurons could be damaged, speech impediments, inability to communicate, blindness, really the list goes on and on. In some instances with minor brain damage, it can be repaired, or the person can relearn whatever was lost. Terri sustained SEVERE brain damage; however the part of her brain that controlled body functions such as breathing were left intact. Take a look at this photo, the scan on the left is a CAT scan of Terri’s brain, the one on the right is a normal brain. (Taken from the LA Times website.) Cranial space that would otherwise have been filled by gray matter is now filled with cerebrospinal fluid. And yes, that’s what the blue space is: cerebrospinal fluid that is filling up space left behind by necrotic brain tissue that has been scavenged and removed by the body. Needless to say (And yes, I had to re-read that information about ten times before it sunk into my brain, lol, I’m no doctor!) basically what this CAT scan is showing us is that Terri had no major brain function what so ever. Any reactions, movements, and what have you that she may have shown were all done unconsciously, she had no idea she was doing it, nor at the same time could have stopped it from happening. Some doctors say that with therapy, Terri may have recovered; other’s said it was impossible for her to recover. After doing research on this subject, I find it highly unlikely that she would have recovered with or without therapy. That CAT scan was taken in 2002, and with the three years that have passed, there would have been more degeneration to her brain, meaning that she would have gotten worse and worse with time.
Now, on to the husband’s role in all of this. First off, I would suspect that if Terri’s husband had actually caused her to have a heart attack, there would have been some sort of investigation into the matter, and to my knowledge there never was. I have read that there were some instances of domestic situations, however being that Terri was bulimic it’s highly likely that this is what caused her to have the heart attack and not her husband. Weather or not Terri actually told her husband that she would not want to be kept alive if she were in a comma, I have no idea, wasn’t there, and no one can really make that determination except her husband. Comma and brain damage isn’t the same thing, there would be the possibility if there were no other under lying problems to come out of a comma. I have read so many speculations that Terri’s husband wanted her dead so he could collect the insurance money, for book deals, was afraid she would come out of it and tell the world what he did to her, on and on. I don’t know the guy, and quite frankly it’s not my place to judge him, only ONE can do that. You know the saying, unless you have walked in his shoes….
More on Flood
Just another update. Accroding to news reports Dale County, Alabama is no longer under a flood warning. I have no idea as to what the levels of the river are today, or when it will crest and the change will be made back to Flood Warning, it was suspected that it would crest on Sunday, Monday at the latest. When I drove home from work yesturday (after worrying I wouldn't make it because of the possible flooding and the whopping 8 inches of rain we received) there was minor flooding, but the river had risen substantially since the drive in to work. I meant to take a quick trip down to the river today to check it out myself being that I missed the news last night due to my sister calling, however I didn't make it. I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days. I will be sure to watch the news this evening and possibly go down tomorrow and get some pictures if it's necessary and update everyone
More On Terri
It’s hard to believe what a subject like this does to people’s belief system. I belong to a faith related email group and received 45 messages today on the argument of weather or not Terri should have been able to continue living, or to let her go. The heated discussion began when someone relayed that he believed that Terri had left us long ago and was with the Father in heaven. Then began the comments about how her soul couldn’t have left her body if her heart was still beating, that she recognized people around her and reacted to them in different ways, that her husband didn’t want her to recover because then Terri would let the word out that he was the one that caused her medical problems, she was breathing on her own, functioning, just needed help eating, on and on it goes. Don’t get me wrong, all of these arguments are quite persuasive, but what has to be understood is that not one of us can really say as to weather or not any of these things are factual. We are only given what the media wants us to know, and even the web sites out there that were/are fighting for Terri’s cause are giving out information that is hearsay at best. Unless each of us as individuals are in this position ourselves, know the facts and both sides of the story (that is IF the truth is told), there really is no way of knowing anything. The only one who can really have all the facts and know the reasons for any of this is GOD period.
I absolutely believe that all this has happened for a reason, and that the outcome will probably not be what most of us want. Terri’s body is now dead, and her soul or whatever you would like to call it is with God. I do stick to what I said; I think that she has been with God all this time. As to weather the soul can leave the body when it’s still alive, I suppose it depends on how you define the subject. To say that you can’t commune with God in heaven while your soul is still on earth (or within a body) to me is insane. How many times have you read about people in comma’s (some not being Christian’s) having encounters with God that they can’t fully explain because to them it was like a dream? These people are quite alive, and still have their souls intact, but perhaps their spirit is what brought them to meet with God. Just as an example, you can have a soul, however you can be taken by an evil spirit at any time without even realizing it and do horrible things. I suppose you can boil it down to the old “the devil made me do it” scenario. I guess I should have taken the time to think the subject matter out before writing my last entry and stating that Terri’s soul was with God, I do however believe that her spirit was and is.
It’s been pointed out to me that there is a difference between being brain dead and having brain damage. Brain death I have learned after doing some research on the matter is something you do not recover from, you are dead while your organs may still be functioning. Basically you are kept alive by machines, but there is no activity in your brain and no hope of coming out of the state. At least, according to the AMA there have been NO instances of anyone ever recovering from brain death. Brain damage comes in different forms, caused by different things. Basically if the brain goes for several minuets without oxygen (witch is what occurred with Terri due to heart attack) than a person will incur some brain damage, meaning certain neurons could be damaged, speech impediments, inability to communicate, blindness, really the list goes on and on. In some instances with minor brain damage, it can be repaired, or the person can relearn whatever was lost. Terri sustained SEVERE brain damage; however the part of her brain that controlled body functions such as breathing were left intact. Take a look at this photo, the scan on the left is a CAT scan of Terri’s brain, the one on the right is a normal brain. (Taken from the LA Times website.) Cranial space that would otherwise have been filled by gray matter is now filled with cerebrospinal fluid. And yes, that’s what the blue space is: cerebrospinal fluid that is filling up space left behind by necrotic brain tissue that has been scavenged and removed by the body. Needless to say (And yes, I had to re-read that information about ten times before it sunk into my brain, lol, I’m no doctor!) basically what this CAT scan is showing us is that Terri had no major brain function what so ever. Any reactions, movements, and what have you that she may have shown were all done unconsciously, she had no idea she was doing it, nor at the same time could have stopped it from happening. Some doctors say that with therapy, Terri may have recovered; other’s said it was impossible for her to recover. After doing research on this subject, I find it highly unlikely that she would have recovered with or without therapy. That CAT scan was taken in 2002, and with the three years that have passed, there would have been more degeneration to her brain, meaning that she would have gotten worse and worse with time.
Now, on to the husband’s role in all of this. First off, I would suspect that if Terri’s husband had actually caused her to have a heart attack, there would have been some sort of investigation into the matter, and to my knowledge there never was. I have read that there were some instances of domestic situations, however being that Terri was bulimic it’s highly likely that this is what caused her to have the heart attack and not her husband. Weather or not Terri actually told her husband that she would not want to be kept alive if she were in a comma, I have no idea, wasn’t there, and no one can really make that determination except her husband. Comma and brain damage isn’t the same thing, there would be the possibility if there were no other under lying problems to come out of a comma. I have read so many speculations that Terri’s husband wanted her dead so he could collect the insurance money, for book deals, was afraid she would come out of it and tell the world what he did to her, on and on. I don’t know the guy, and quite frankly it’s not my place to judge him, only ONE can do that. You know the saying, unless you have walked in his shoes….
posted by Dovely at 7:32 PM
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