ethics
02-17-2005, 11:36 AM
In 1984, Sarah Scantlin was hit by a drunk driver as she was leaving a club. Her devastated parents were told that while she would physically survive, she would <b>never walk or speak again</b>. Last week, Betsy Scantlin (her mom) received a phone call from the Golden Plains Health Care Center in Hutchinson, Kansas — and heard Sarah say "Hi, Mom" for the first time in twenty years.
Since then, Sarah's communication and recall about the past have made impressive progress. <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/10880943.htm?1c">According to her excited family</a>, she has been able to recall friends, pets (to include correctly telling her father that one bogus pet he named never existed) and recognize now-adult siblings.
While Sarah's recent progress is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_672608.htm">amazing</a> and is <a href="http://www.alzcorp.com/article10.html">further evidence</a> that the brain is capable of regeneration, how will she deal with the 20-year interval in her life? She is essentially an 18-year old from 1984 living in a 38-year old body.
But when he asked her how old she was, Sarah guessed she was 22. When her brother gently told her she was 38 years old now, she just stared silently back at him. The nurses say she thinks it is still the 1980s.
Will politicians use this as an argument against Euthenasia? Will people compare Schiavo's situation with this one (imho, there is no valid comparison). Will this girl ever live a normal life?
Since then, Sarah's communication and recall about the past have made impressive progress. <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/10880943.htm?1c">According to her excited family</a>, she has been able to recall friends, pets (to include correctly telling her father that one bogus pet he named never existed) and recognize now-adult siblings.
While Sarah's recent progress is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_672608.htm">amazing</a> and is <a href="http://www.alzcorp.com/article10.html">further evidence</a> that the brain is capable of regeneration, how will she deal with the 20-year interval in her life? She is essentially an 18-year old from 1984 living in a 38-year old body.
But when he asked her how old she was, Sarah guessed she was 22. When her brother gently told her she was 38 years old now, she just stared silently back at him. The nurses say she thinks it is still the 1980s.
Will politicians use this as an argument against Euthenasia? Will people compare Schiavo's situation with this one (imho, there is no valid comparison). Will this girl ever live a normal life?