Police investigate assisted suicide of paralysed rugby player Daniel James/UK

[macska]

I am very sure that for the parents of this young man that had to be the most heart breaking decision. But because they loved him so much, they have let him go.
To all of you who are commenting and feel like he should have hanged on for longer.. it is his and his families business. No one else has the right to say when enough is enough and if he felt he needed to leave that broken body behind so be it.
RIP you are now free.

[macska]

[QUOTE=Isildur;935318]A real mother NEVER would support suicide of his son, NEVER.
Well I am a mother and I am as real as it gets, and I love my son to the core.
I tell you this, with that love comes also the power of letting go. If I was ever faced with the decision would I follow my selfish desire to have my child, (who is suffering) with me in a physical form, or set him free from all the bull shit.
I would choose to let him go.

[alan]

Originally Posted by bob clark

Hi Alan,

What do you mean by "but couldn't do it themselves."?

You feed yourself, don't you? And you do your own transfers etc.? I know you're in a lot of pain but you're still able to do a lot of your own ADLs, aren't you?

How's your Mom doing?

Bob.

I never could do transfers, or dress. I can do very few ADLs now (I wasn't taught a lot at rehab, but most of those I am now unable to do) - as the back pains and catching scapulas kept increasing, my ability to use my arms decreases. I can type very little now - I force myself here. I can pick up food that's cut using a leather splint on my right arm (I can no longer put on and take off splints myself, haven't been able to for quite a few years now.) That's about it.

Mom seems stable, which is good.

[Klymir]

I must say I am quite shocked reading through a lot of the comments on this thread.

I am surprised by the complacency of some people towards this young man's choice.

In no way could I ever, or would I ever, support or condone the actions of this young man and his family. Although I am aware of the fact that I do not know all the circumstances that led to his decision, and I do ultimately respect them for what must have been the hardest decision of their lives.

It saddened me a great deal to hear of the decision he made. It saddens me that he didn't have people around him to inspire him to fight hard to create a meaningful life. I wish I could've spent even a couple hours talking to this guy.

As a 21-year-old C5/6 Quad myself, I've worked myself into a mindset where I am very much looking forward to the rest of my life. I refuse to feel sorry for myself, and refused to be around people who feel sorry for me. I'm a young guy with a long journey ahead of me, and the way I look at my injury, is that it's merely another challenge to overcome. A pretty tough one at times I’ll admit.

But I am honestly of the mindset that if things get tough, it gives us an opportunity to become a stronger human being.

What I think a lot of people with new injuries don't realize, especially at the C4/5/6/7 level, is the most debilitating aspect of the injury is mostly in your head. We all remember that first month lying in a hospital bed staring at the ceiling barely able to move and thinking our life was as good as over. I never imagined that with my level of injury I would be capable of doing the things I am able to do now.

In this young man's case, he needed a mentor more than anything else. He needed to see that it is possible to live completely independently; to use only a manual chair, to date the girls that he wanted to, and to go out and hit the town like he used to. He needed to see that he could skydive, play wheelchair rugby, hit the slopes in a sit ski, learn to fly gliders, and so on.

I think all hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, need to set up peer mentoring programs. And, as someone mentioned above, make it mandatory for people to watch Murderball! We can't let something like this happen again.

One day we'll all be walking again, but until that day arrives, you got to learn to love yourself.


Klymir

[Mona~on~wheels]

Originally Posted by Klymir

I must say I am quite shocked reading through a lot of the comments on this thread.

I am surprised by the complacency of some people towards this young man's choice.

In no way could I ever, or would I ever, support or condone the actions of this young man and his family. Although I am aware of the fact that I do not know all the circumstances that led to his decision, and I do ultimately respect them for what must have been the hardest decision of their lives.

It saddened me a great deal to hear of the decision he made. It saddens me that he didn't have people around him to inspire him to fight hard to create a meaningful life. I wish I could've spent even a couple hours talking to this guy.

As a 21-year-old C5/6 Quad myself, I've worked myself into a mindset where I am very much looking forward to the rest of my life. I refuse to feel sorry for myself, and refused to be around people who feel sorry for me. I'm a young guy with a long journey ahead of me, and the way I look at my injury, is that it's merely another challenge to overcome. A pretty tough one at times I’ll admit.

But I am honestly of the mindset that if things get tough, it gives us an opportunity to become a stronger human being.

What I think a lot of people with new injuries don't realize, especially at the C4/5/6/7 level, is the most debilitating aspect of the injury is mostly in your head. We all remember that first month lying in a hospital bed staring at the ceiling barely able to move and thinking our life was as good as over. I never imagined that with my level of injury I would be capable of doing the things I am able to do now.

In this young man's case, he needed a mentor more than anything else. He needed to see that it is possible to live completely independently; to use only a manual chair, to date the girls that he wanted to, and to go out and hit the town like he used to. He needed to see that he could skydive, play wheelchair rugby, hit the slopes in a sit ski, learn to fly gliders, and so on.

I think all hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, need to set up peer mentoring programs. And, as someone mentioned above, make it mandatory for people to watch Murderball! We can't let something like this happen again.

One day we'll all be walking again, but until that day arrives, you got to learn to love yourself.


Klymir

Amen Klymir! Welcome to CC. Post often.

[macska]

Good for you guy, and keep up the struggle. But understand that not everyone thinks like you and we all have the right to choose.