The will to live

Saturday, March 31, marks the second anniversary of the passing of Terri Schindler Schiavo. The last 15 years of her life were a dramatic saga, a wrenching ordeal that is detailed in several books, most personally by her own family in “A Life That Matters” which they call “A Lesson For Us All”.

Through the work of the foundation named after Terri, a great many seriously impaired and disabled people and their families are being helped daily. These people have had few public advocates with understanding of the system and access to the resources, but the Schindlers and their team of assistants are doing positively heroic work for them.

It’s interesting to consider the term “them”, because before February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo was as lively and ‘normal’ as anyone else. Her collapse that night has never been explained, which is a powerful reminder that everyone is a breath or a heartbeat away from being seriously disabled, and critically dependant on their loved ones for their very life.

One of the resources on the foundation’s site is this ‘Will to Live’ information page, for that serious discussion families are having about end-of-life wishes and requirements. There’s so much confusion about this. But how poignant that clarity and hope is coming into that discussion from the legacy of the woman whose life was taken by people who represented incoherence and futility.

Love is stronger than death. Bob and Mary Schindler, Bobby and Suzanne — Terri’s family — prove that every day.