Found this on the Woodside Hospice site that may interest you

[n2mark]

http://www.thehospice.org/foodandfluidsEOL.htm

I could not locate their board members.

[madaboutharry]

1. The misinformation put out by those

who claim to "support Terri" is doing a great disservice to the Hospice community and Hospice patients. Those who work in end of life care must be deeply upset by the propaganda being spewed on television.

[KharmaTrain]

6. These People Have Been Totally Slandered

I have the utmost respect for those who work in hospices. They face the most difficult situations every day and provide invaluable information and support that made a big difference in a very traumatic and stressful time.

If anyone still thinks this lady is being "starved" or "dehydrated", I suggest they look at this site and look further into the hospice movement. The whole concept is an emphasis on comfort and death with dignity. They don't treat, they don't diagnose, they don't cure...they provide much needed emotional and professional support.

Unfortunately our society can't deal with death and the dying. It's better to shove the elderly out of sight when they are no longer fun or healthy...and ignore our own mortality. Death is the last natural act of life...but a majority will never learn to deal with it or are blindsided when the imminent death of a loved one happens.

Thank goodness for hospices and the totally dedicated people who work in this valuable and truly maligned and underappreciated profession.

[Palacsinta]

2. Thank you for the site......

I wish I had that information when my dad died 20 years ago. He stopped eating or drinking anything about 4 days before he died. Nice to know after all these years that his dehydration actually contributed to his peaceful death.

[bush_is_wacko]

3. Finally someone was able to do what I didn't think of doing!

The rhetoric being sputtered about liberally about this process is totally DELUSIONAL. Every one of these protesters should be required to volunteer for a Hospice for at least the amount of time they have drug this womans death through their "muddy waters!" Maybe they can learn to let families grieve in peace from that experience!

[whistle]

4. So the same facility that has been the care taker of Terri Schiavo

...counsels the family with these statements from your link:

<snip>

Food and Fluids Near the End of Life
As a person approaches death a natural slowing down of the body’s physical and mental systems occurs. Because the needs of the body are changing, the need for food and fluids naturally decreases as the person nears the end of life.

It is not unusual for the sense of taste to diminish and/or the person to begin to have difficulty swallowing. As the body’s systems slow, the need for caloric intake also diminishes. This is a normal process near the end of life. Food that has fueled healing in the past may now only bring about discomfort and possibly even pain. (Martin 1995)

When are artificial food and fluids considered?

When a person is nearing the end of life, adding artificial food and fluids is not likely to make the person stronger or prolong their life and may cause uncomfortable symptoms. When a person with a temporary or chronic illness is expected to recover and can’t swallow or properly digest food and fluids, a feeding tube or intravenous fluids may help.

<and more>

Thanks. Should send copies to Senator Frist and Governor Bush.

[chookie]

5. That is an excellent resource

I just lived through this experience, caring for my dying mother, in the final stages of Alzheimers.

The information presented at this website is excellent, and I recommend that anyone with questions about the end of life experience refer to it.

It gives you a great sense of how extraordinary the hospice movement is, and what loving care they provide at the end of life.

They enabled my mother to have a beautiful death.