Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Doctors Insert Feeding Tube Through Pope's Nose

The above headline is from the NYTimes, along with the accompanying article.

So many have compared what Terri is going through with the Holy Father.

Now, he also has a taste of what it is like to be fed 'artificially'... though that is a ridiculous term.
This is not the same kind of tube Terri had...this one is into the nose, down to the stomach and taped to nose to stay in place. When food is not being delivered, it hangs there for the world to see. When food IS being delivered, it is also there for all the world to see.

Terri's could be hidden under clothing, extending out only enough to have the longer tube attached that goes to the bag with the liquid in, hanging from an IV tube just long enough to flow in, or to be delivered at a predetermined rate by a pump...OR by gravity in a 'bolus' with a piston syringe (not using the piston part, just allowing the formula and then water to flow by gravity into the tube, into the stomach.

While the NG tube is uncomfortable, the PEG tube that Terri had is not often a source of any discomfort unless accidentally pulled on or if the site gets infected, once the area is healed after insertion.

God bless JPII, God bless Terri Schindler Schiavo.

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