Routely was a man in Canada who was in a vegetative state.
Mr Routley suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident 12 years ago.
None of his physical assessments since then have shown any sign of awareness, or ability to communicate.
But the British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen – who led the team at the Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario – said Mr Routley was clearly not vegetative.
“Scott has been able to show he has a conscious, thinking mind. We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activity shows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe he knows who and where he is.”
I taught myself to speak in order to say “No.” Removal of the feeding tube is a big issue, but it wasn’t this surgery that was planned for me. It was something else, and it really doesn’t matter what it was for. I think I surprised people. I blurted out “No.”
I remember the doctor and the Physical Therapist, PT, trying to change my mind. The name of the surgery didn’t sound bad and it would have helped in the short-term. I was thinking long-term, though. I’m not supposed to be alive now. They wouldn’t have known this. Ask a PT now. They’d say I said the right thing.
What matters is that I said no. Surgery to remove the feeding tube is the same. It’s a person’s wishes, not the type of surgery that matters. The ventilator can also be included.
Recently, JohnAllman.UK contacted me. He authored Scott’s Law: Talk to me, don’t just starve me to death!
There is a movement in his country to stop the practice of removing the feeding tube to hasten death. This movement just isn’t in this country, but many others.
The big deal will be determining consciousness. This is what people need to watch with me. I am yet to be determined conscience. A feeding tube can’t be removed from a conscious person. Mine can’t if I say “No.” That’s not feasible for the non-vocal.
I should be conscious because I write this, right? Well, no. I’m not conscious because I don’t swallow.
Accept the writing, gestures and brain scans. That’s a start. Nothing happens until this occurs. It’s the person’s wishes that matter.
