At last weekend's Santa Barbara Triathlon, a local triathlete was injured in a bike accident. She was paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a respirator. Through communication with her family, she determined that she didn't want to live in such a state, and medical staff removed her breathing tube.
While I believe in people having the right to do what they want as long as no harm is done to others, this deeply troubles me. She wasn't in a coma, didn't appear to have severe brain damage, nor was she unable to communicate. And yet she gave up.
I am not indicting her or her family for this decision. Rather, it troubles me that a woman who is no stranger to hard work (she and her sister hold a RAAM record) would be in such a state that she'd elect to opt out of her life. I suppose I am lamenting the torment that life can put people through.
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