Farewell Terri ~

As we expected, Terri has passed on. It is a wonder she survived this long. Although this young woman is now deceased, our prayers continue to go out to her. Indeed, for as many years as she suffered through this terminal illness, it would be divinely insensitive and unjust if she is made to spend even an instant in purgatory.

Clearly, no one was untouched by her travail! But sadly, and not regrettably, this period was not characterized by a unanimity of feeling among us. Our nation was wracked and divided by moral, religious, philosophical and even political differences. Does that reflect well or ill for us and America? My response would be, considerably more well than ill.

However, what we urgently need now is a candid admission that not one of the attitudes we espoused was essentially right or wrong. Indeed, the profound diversity of the attitudes we expressed, can be viewed as a genuine testimonial to this nation’s capacity for great depth of feeling when it is confronted with serious matters. In my clinical judgement, America’s vital mental signs are intact, healthy and strong.

Addendum: There is a lesson to be drawn from this tragic sequence of events. Every adult in the family should have a living will! And it should be kept under a magnet on the refrigerator door.