Blog

FYI: I will be blogging with much less frequency, to take time to reflect on the merits of blogging in my personal life. Sometimes things don't go the way you wanted them to, and blogging might be one of those things. I started this blog four months ago with high expectations, and this blog has come a long way. It was a great learning experience, and I even met a few people who I will probably interact with more in the future, but nothing lasts forever, and it seems this blog may be on its way out.

Right now, there are two possible futures for this blog: 1) It is never updated again, but left on the Internet as a source of information for anyone inclined to find it through a Google search or something of the like, OR 2) I will update it with less frequency but with more meaningful and enriching posts. Part of what happens will be determined by feedback via comments. I'll continue to check my email and look at the comments section here to see what anyone who is so inclined might think about this.

I hope that you will pray for Pope John Paul II tonight (in addition to the intention for the repose of Terri Schiavo's soul), as he is going through a great trial. He has received the Anointing of the Sick (the second time, the first being after he was shot some years back), and is still receiving food through a nasal feeding tube and breathing assistance through a tube in his throat.

Report from CNS News.

It would seem that Terri's parents were denied the chance to be with their daughter as she breathed her last.

Please pray for the repose of her soul, and for all those involved in Terri's life.

I found another great article on Terri Schiavo today in the St. Louis Post Dispatch (surprisingly, I know...), and it is written by Fr. Edward Richard—from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary!

"In Terri's case, a number of Americans have seen what law and medicine could not. Terri's humanity and its dignity mean that she should be guaranteed basic care including food and water. It is now time to begin asking how medicine and law can legitimately serve to bolster respect for and improve the lives of persons with disabilities like Terri's, not sanction their deaths. Unfortunately for Terri, needed improvements in the law will probably be too late..."

Read more...

I'm reading a little on Terri Schiavo this morning, and I came across (in addition to this article I posted earlier) some very well-written, well-thought-out philosophical and medical posts on CodeBlueBlog...

"Much has been made over the issue of Terri Schiavo’s swallowing. It is because Schiavo cannot swallow that a feeding tube was inserted directly into her stomach.. It is this feeding tube that has been the object of gargantuan legal, moral and ethical struggles.

But what is swallowing and why should it carry such import?

There are three stages of swallowing: the oral, chewing phase; the pharyngeal reflex phase wherein the food is propelled over the vocal cords and into the esophagus; and, the esophageal stage, during which food travels to the stomach.

The fight over Terri Schiavo involves only one of these three stages and that is the pharyngeal stage..."

I just wanted to remind anyone who has forgotten or enlighten anyone who doesn't yet know about the PROLIFE Wristbands. I have a picture of what one looks like on the sidebar of this blog, and I wanted to post some new information on my blog so more people would know about it.

As of right now, there are four nationwide vendors (three even accept worldwide orders!), three of which sell both adult- and youth-sized wristbands. Two of them accept credit card (in addition to personal checks and money orders). The original vendor, the St. Louis Pro-Life Office, still only sells the adult-sized wristbands, but I recommend you go through them if possible, because I'm sure they do many great things with whatever money they earn from the wristbands, and they are close to where I live!