@porcupinesol - Didn’t say I would LIKE it, but if that was what God had for my short life on Earth, who am I to argue with the creator of the universe
I could only imagine what her life was like… :-/
Depends on the machine. A Ferrari is a machine.
oh god…die =/
That’s the only way she knew how to live. I don’t think it matters much, if she’s been conditioned to live that as “normal”.
I would prefer death.
I truly don’t know since I am not in that position, but I would inclined to say no. Man has natural, strong desire for self-preservation. While I probably would contemplate suicide some, I think my overwhelming desire to live and continue on would win out. But who really knows, besides the people who are actually in that position?
it’s hard to judge it, but i think i would prefer to die than be in that machine. i don’t know though. i wonder what she was like or experienced.
No. It might not be the most comfortable life, but it is MY life. And I would want to live it.
oh ya. There’s no way I’d want to live like that. Put me down!
Yes… I’d rather die than be in that machine for so long
yep
@whataboutbahb - hah, it’d be hard to commit suicide while in that there contraption, eh?
Death isn’t an option, not when you’re looking it in the face.
And she knew no other way of life… I bet she wished for more, but didn’t EXACTLY know what she missing. Like a person who’s been blind from birth…
Shoot, anything I say here may get me in trouble. HURRAY 4 MAE!
just kill me
I agree with what Xinergy said which I am adding to lol:
This woman never knew anything different. This was 100% normal. What may seem extreme to you or I was her life. She did not just lay there and waste her life either. She finished high school and wrote a book. If she had not wanted to live that way she turned 18 long ago and could have probably voiced that. She never gave up with all she had been through. Most of us can’t handle even a minimal of what she went through.
For me what made me sad is that a simple thing like a power outage ended her life. But another part of me also realizes she was never given a choice at 3 yrs old. So I doubt she remembered what it was like to run and play. We can only see it from the point of veiw that if we were suddenly in that situation.
My daughter has had a tracheotomy tube 95% of her 9 yrs of life. She only had it out for about 14 mths before they realized she was not doing ok without it. (it was removed just before she started kindergarten and put back in just after she started 1st grade) She sees pictures of herself in kindergarten and asked once if she could take her tube out for her next picture too. *she thot it had been like when it is changed where we take out the old and put in the new in a matter of seconds* She does not remember life without it. As if she was born with it.
My long winded *sorry dan* point is:
What you don’t know won’t hurt you – meaning that since she never walked etc she probably did not miss it like we would.
wonders if Dan reads all these lol
or replys to them
@porcupinesol - roflmao … sorry but dude (or dudet) that was funny! Even got the hubby in stitches.
Sure, why not. When I was three, running about outside was my life. I wouldn’t have wanted to live in an iron lung.
Yeah.. – _ -
since i know what it’s like to live a life outside a machine, of course, i would probably become really depressed if that was my life now, but if i had been in there since i was 3, i can’t say. but the way she lived her life is really inspiring.
Oh my God, yes.
@one_trached_momma - you’ll have that with me. anytime. but, seriously, what was it i said that was so funny?
Yes.
Who the fuck cares if it’s your life, you’re NOT LIVING. I mean seriously, I’d die of boredom/claustrophobia. I’d rather die. *shiver*
No.
Enjoyment, understanding, and thought can all easily be carried out even being constrained to an iron lung. It’s not as if the ordeal calls for constant, debilitating pain.
at first i said “absolutely”, but then i read the article…
now i’m not so sure. you only get one life, so i guess i’d rather make the most of it in a machine than not even try by resorting to death.
I like being alive.
yeah i totally would.
Probably no for me. I think life has a purpose to it. What purpose does it serve when someone kept alive by machine? I can’t think of a good reason to answer this question.
I think death would be better, but first I’d go for the record: “Longest time spent in an iron lung machine”. You’ve got a lot of time to be dead, not so much time to be alive.
That would be a horrible way to life… and die.
I’m not sure what my decision would be. In a way, you could be an inspiration to people for your emotional strength of being able to live like that, but then again, not being able to move or function like a normal person physically can would be tremendously horrible. Is it even healthy that she lived that way? [Assuming she got no physical excersise due to the iron lung she looks like she's trapped in]
well i’m deaf. how would i be able to commuicate? and how the hell would she… even shit herself? that is just freaky, man, FREAKY.
There is no way in heck you could get me to live in a machine like that. I would much rather die, because laying in the machine would be a fate worse than death. And how horrible to die because of a power outage.
I don’t think I could…that’s not much of a life it seems, no offense to her or her family, but I don’t think I would want that for myself.
I don’t think I’d be able to live that way Living a life of restrictions
so yes
Yup – enough to put it in my living will.
@QuantumStorm - In this sense, it is different for every person. I guess it was enough for her, and enough for some people. I wouldn’t want to live that personally, though.
I don’t know. I’d give myself a chance to live. Laugh. Love. You know. BE A WALKING CLICHE!
Only not walking. Cause you know. I’m in a machine.
Also, is there not some sort of surge protector, or…back-up energy, or something? That’s really awful!
Regardless, how did they not think of some backup to keep from that happening?
I would live long enough to go on a talent show, do a robot dance, and laugh until I died.
I’m not sure. My will to live and continue living is too strong to extinguish based on someone else’s experience. Up to me, I’d most likely choose to live in a machine all my life, work past the adversity and still complete something satisfactory to me.
Who cares about what others think about the quality of my life? It’s still my life and I’m still living it… am I not?
Yes
And to think I was pissed off when the power went off here yesterday. I never occurred to me that it could kill someone.
I think I’d still rather live. But it’d be hard to say, without actually being in the situation.
You’d think they ought to have had power generators or something. Jesus.
I think so. To me, having to be hooked up to a machine would not really be living anyway.
I think I’d prefer to die naturally than live in such a contraption. I remember seeing one of these things close up and it creeped me right out, makes me shudder just thinking about it. It’s not much of an existence to live in such a way, it could be questioned…is it actually living?
@UnworthyofHisgrace - My thoughts exactly. And besides, at three years old, “pulling the plug” really isn’t a decision that’s up to you. And by the time it is up to you, you’ve already been in there for 15 years. What’s another 40?
I would want to see if God had anything planned for my life. But if not I would want to go home.
she has a better tv than i do, so apparently someone takes care of her. i rather live.
i’d compare it to stephen hawking. he’s mobile and can’t communicate without a computer. this lady is immobile and has all of her braincells in tact. which would be the worse situation?
I could still SHINE for God in everything that I could say, while I was trapped in a machine.
I have to say usually I would want to live, but man that would suck living like that….
No. There’s still plenty of joy and wonders to see and enjoy in this world, why deprive myself of them?
There was also always the chance that a new breakthrough in medical technology would release me from the device. Its pretty amazing looking at how far we’ve come in the last 50 years alone.
To anyone born with a physical impediment, I hope you continue to have the strength to face each new day with hope and anticipation of what the world will bring.
i really would rather die- it would suck not to be able to live a normal life or have kids or anything
I think you should have asked her.
Kill me. Dear God, just kill me.
<33
well, i would rather die than be in a machine.
There is a reason for everything. And if I were to have to live in a machine like that all my life, then I would search out that reason and live it to the fullest for God.
Always With Love, Shelby
When it is something that an iron lung that is so restrictive on your life, yes I would rather die but it would be difficult to have to make the decision to pull the plug on someone else.
I’d still want to see how the world evolves and how my family grows… As much as it hurts, I’d probably still want to live.
I read the article and it seemed that she would rather live than die. She made the effort to write a children’s book to show children you should never give up.
I really cannot answer this question and I hope I never have to.
The difference between us and her is she never really knew any different being that she was in the machine from age 3. Compared to how we’ve all lived, most would find pretty much zero quality of life living in an iron lung.. I know I thought that when I read the article yesterday… but at the same time, people are funny… when faced with death, most are willing to do whatever it takes to live longer, however their life may change consequently.
One person’s nightmare when they’re in the best of health is their miracle when they’re at death’s door…
Oh yes I would indeed!!!
I’m amazed at every stupid comment here saying you would rather die. This boils down to would you rather face the known or unknown. shows how easy it is to lie on a weblog….
i’m sure that every person who said they would rather die, if in the situation, would stick it out just like this woman did.
everyone thinks they’re so special.
death is unknown, what sense would it make to face a certain unknown, and leave the known world?
…it’s just so ironic, how she died by power failure after all this time…. very metaphoric to all of us though when you think about, one day you just turn on the light and the bulb flashes and goes out.
That’s what will happen to all of us eventually.
….I just think I would have had a back up generator….
Yes I think I would. Though I have a hard time with the whole concept of euthanasia for any reason.
@Orlando - That’s your own fear talking. Not every one shares those kind of fears.
In fact their are many people have made the same choice to terminate their own life. You only think it’s stupid because it disagrees with your opinion.
Wich by the way is the reason we have so many problems in the world today. No one is tolerant of other peoples opinions.
Interesting.
no, i think it’s stupid because it is a choice that cannot be undone. It is unnatural to end your own life, and this woman was not in pain.
She her self is evidence that her life was worth living. She accomplished more than many people by publishing a book and completing school when many people drop out.
I personally know people who are both blind and deaf, and quite successful and are some of the happiest people I know.
My opinion is based on work with the severely disabled and persons in many situations which you would have them end their own lives, their existence and happiness is evidence that life prevails.
What is stupid is how easily people will respond without the ability to understand that they cannot make such a decision without the personal experience. That people actually think their responses have anything to do with reality.
Suicide has a negative impact on society in general.
I am not talking about euthanasia for someone is severe pain, nor am I speaking from any type of religious view point.
Why is my opinion any less valid than someone who wants to go shoot their self without giving it a second thought?
I’d rather die than live like that because that isn’t living.
From the article…
Odell was determined to live a full life – she earned a diploma from Jackson High School as a home-bound student and an honorary degree from Freed-Hardeman College. A voice-activated computer allowed her to write a children’s book, “Less Light,” about Blinky, a tiny star who dreams of becoming a wishing star.
In a 2001 interview with The Associated Press, she said she wanted to show children, especially those with physical disabilities, that they should never give up.
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you see someone do the same thing,” she said.
I wouldn’t want to live like that, but I’m really impressed with all she did – High school diploma, honorary college diploma, children’s storybook…wow. She certainly didn’t let it hold her down…ooh, bad pun, sorry!
I prefer dying than to spend my life inside a machine. :
Well, I’d like to say pull the plug, but because I don’t know what happens when you die (ie: reincarnation, or eternal life in heaven) it’s hard to say that dying would be a better alternative. I definitely wouldn’t want to be in that machine though.
I can’t imagine that was the only option for her to live…maybe when she was three cause the technology was minimal, but nowadays? That doesn’t seem right to me, but what do I know?
Final answer, yes, I’ll take Death for 1000 please.
I suppose I should have read the link prior to commenting. I guess that was her only option, ftl!
Yes.
DEATH!
i think the real question is, would you rather spend your life having a TV in your face 24/7 or death?
i wouldn’t want to live in a machine. no thanks.
why didn’t they have a backup generator?
Just because you can’t move doesn’t mean that you can’t have a vivid life of the mind, or have gifts for other things. Why write off a life like hers as one not worth living? She didn’t.
i would rather be thrown off a cliff
I can give an answer easily because I don’t require any machine to live. However, whatever my answer is at the moment I’m sure would be different if it would ever come down to that.
yes i would. i don’t consider life in a machine to be really living.
I honestly think, w/ technology being what it is today – couldn’t they have gotten something better made/created for her since the 1920s? I just don’t get it.
@desesperada - Okay, okay, maybe not a nuclear reactor… but at the very least, a T1 power generator? Maybe with a power storage unit or two or three?
Anyone?
C’mon, people.
Yes, I would rather die. You aren’t living a life in a tube. I never want to be in a vegetative state either. I want to live until I can’t take care of myself anymore. Amanda
omg. that’s crazy. i don’t know that’s a hard question.. maybe her parents wanted something for her better than nothing.. at when she was old enough to decide she was so comfortable with the iron lung condition that she didn’t want to give it up. .. what a horrible way to die though.
I would want to die.
She really didn’t know any other way of life, though.
i’d rather die then
yes, because there’s no point in living like that.
Yes. I would feel so useless and like a complete drain on my family.
i would want to live it because it’s all i know..and it is who i am.
The people who did that to her… Let her live a lifetime in a prison like that… they deserve the death penalty.
Yes, but then again, that’s because I know better. She was in there her whole life so she never really knew any different.
Without a doubt
die
No grass inbetween my toes…….ever……..:(
Yes, remember that if I ever veg out.
@QuantumStorm - Well, whatever, AS LONG AS I DON’T DIE.
That’s kind of the key part, really.
Argh! Let me die! to her credit she was still able to contribute to society through writing books ( dictating them more like, ) but I don’t know if I would have that kind of will……And for the fact the your life is literally in the hands of others?
awwh that’s so sad ><
:T i think i’d rather die ~ i’m not brave enough.
Yeah. I cant imagine spending most of my life in that thing! I wouldn’t be able to live like that at all.
Yes.
hope she didn’t die too painfully..=[
OMG…would I rather die than spend my whole life in a machine? HA HA HA — we’re all living part of our lives in FRONT of a machine this very second reading this blog….what’s the big difference?
Ooof. Definitely. What kind of life would you have in an iron lung?
I’d probably cut the power cord myself.
It’s really hard to imagine how the lady can bear it for so many years.
Yes, death please.
i would, whats the point of living when you can’t move?
i wonder how she went to the potty…
Give me liberty or give me death…in this case it would be both.
i don’t really know, but, it seems like it would be absolute misery being trapped in a machine like that.
no
That must be the worst punishment anyone can get. Slow and painful. I would choose to die than live my whole life in a machine.
I think I would choose DEATH. Especially if my mind was constantly being numbed by that stupid TV up there.
I am really shocked by all these yes responses…I guess my philsophical handle is uber-quirky or something
I also feel like going through this post and friending everyone who said “no.” =)
kill me please
yes.
I’d rather die.
DIE…..I could not live that way..what a long time it must of felt like to her..
Poor thing!
It depends on the situation…I want to live my life though..so if I had to be confined like this, I would do it until I couldnt take it anymore..
bring on the death -.-’
oh yes! i wouldn’t want to be in a tube just laying there.
Nope, I’d want to live.
i would want to be put down before i got put into a machine
Comments (149)
yes…. yes i would..
fuck yes.
hell yes!!!!
Hope she wasn’t claustrophobic.
If I was to be in it from age three…as soon as my folks were able to let me go…
It’s hard to say without being in that situation. My instict, though, is that yes, I would rather die.
Unfortuantely, I would have to admit, yes.
No, because who knows how God wanted to use me for His Glory
It’s kind of a “Boy in the Plastic Bubble” type situation.
But not. Because that’s crazy restrictive. I say yes
@UnworthyofHisgrace - you have got to be shitting me.
Even so, it’s sad no matter for ANYONE to have to endure that
Dan, shocking truth you need to read about Xangan idol contestant danteCARAX
http://weblog.xanga.com/another_rebel_without_a_cause/659099326/dantecarax-red-menace.html
You, as a former judge, should take this into account before determining who you will endorse
Definitely.
When I read iron lung, I assumed some device within her body. Not a death chamber she can’t get out of.
@porcupinesol - Not at all
And live like a fucking sardine in a can?
No, thanks…
@porcupinesol - Didn’t say I would LIKE it, but if that was what God had for my short life on Earth, who am I to argue with the creator of the universe
I could only imagine what her life was like… :-/
Depends on the machine. A Ferrari is a machine.
oh god…die =/
That’s the only way she knew how to live. I don’t think it matters much, if she’s been conditioned to live that as “normal”.
I would prefer death.
I truly don’t know since I am not in that position, but I would inclined to say no. Man has natural, strong desire for self-preservation. While I probably would contemplate suicide some, I think my overwhelming desire to live and continue on would win out. But who really knows, besides the people who are actually in that position?
it’s hard to judge it, but i think i would prefer to die than be in that machine. i don’t know though. i wonder what she was like or experienced.
No. It might not be the most comfortable life, but it is MY life. And I would want to live it.
oh ya. There’s no way I’d want to live like that. Put me down!
Yes… I’d rather die than be in that machine for so long
yep
@whataboutbahb - hah, it’d be hard to commit suicide while in that there contraption, eh?
@XINERGY - I completely agree.
Death isn’t an option, not when you’re looking it in the face.
And she knew no other way of life… I bet she wished for more, but didn’t EXACTLY know what she missing. Like a person who’s been blind from birth…
Shoot, anything I say here may get me in trouble. HURRAY 4 MAE!
just kill me
I agree with what Xinergy said which I am adding to lol:
This woman never knew anything different. This was 100% normal. What may seem extreme to you or I was her life. She did not just lay there and waste her life either. She finished high school and wrote a book. If she had not wanted to live that way she turned 18 long ago and could have probably voiced that. She never gave up with all she had been through. Most of us can’t handle even a minimal of what she went through.
For me what made me sad is that a simple thing like a power outage ended her life. But another part of me also realizes she was never given a choice at 3 yrs old. So I doubt she remembered what it was like to run and play. We can only see it from the point of veiw that if we were suddenly in that situation.
My daughter has had a tracheotomy tube 95% of her 9 yrs of life. She only had it out for about 14 mths before they realized she was not doing ok without it. (it was removed just before she started kindergarten and put back in just after she started 1st grade) She sees pictures of herself in kindergarten and asked once if she could take her tube out for her next picture too. *she thot it had been like when it is changed where we take out the old and put in the new in a matter of seconds* She does not remember life without it. As if she was born with it.
My long winded *sorry dan* point is:
What you don’t know won’t hurt you – meaning that since she never walked etc she probably did not miss it like we would.
wonders if Dan reads all these lol
or replys to them
@porcupinesol - roflmao … sorry but dude (or dudet) that was funny! Even got the hubby in stitches.
Sure, why not. When I was three, running about outside was my life. I wouldn’t have wanted to live in an iron lung.
Yeah.. – _ -
since i know what it’s like to live a life outside a machine, of course, i would probably become really depressed if that was my life now, but if i had been in there since i was 3, i can’t say. but the way she lived her life is really inspiring.
Oh my God, yes.
@one_trached_momma - you’ll have that with me.
anytime. but, seriously, what was it i said that was so funny?
Yes.
Who the fuck cares if it’s your life, you’re NOT LIVING. I mean seriously, I’d die of boredom/claustrophobia. I’d rather die. *shiver*
No.
Enjoyment, understanding, and thought can all easily be carried out even being constrained to an iron lung. It’s not as if the ordeal calls for constant, debilitating pain.
at first i said “absolutely”, but then i read the article…
now i’m not so sure. you only get one life, so i guess i’d rather make the most of it in a machine than not even try by resorting to death.
I like being alive.
yeah i totally would.
Probably no for me. I think life has a purpose to it. What purpose does it serve when someone kept alive by machine? I can’t think of a good reason to answer this question.
I think death would be better, but first I’d go for the record: “Longest time spent in an iron lung machine”. You’ve got a lot of time to be dead, not so much time to be alive.
That would be a horrible way to life… and die.
I’m not sure what my decision would be. In a way, you could be an inspiration to people for your emotional strength of being able to live like that, but then again, not being able to move or function like a normal person physically can would be tremendously horrible. Is it even healthy that she lived that way? [Assuming she got no physical excersise due to the iron lung she looks like she's trapped in]
well i’m deaf. how would i be able to commuicate? and how the hell would she… even shit herself? that is just freaky, man, FREAKY.
There is no way in heck you could get me to live in a machine like that. I would much rather die, because laying in the machine would be a fate worse than death. And how horrible to die because of a power outage.
I don’t think I could…that’s not much of a life it seems, no
offense to her or her family, but I don’t think I would want that for
myself.
@Tallon5 - Define “living”.
I don’t think I’d be able to live that way
Living a life of restrictions
so yes
Yup – enough to put it in my living will.
@QuantumStorm - In this sense, it is different for every person. I guess it was enough for her, and enough for some people. I wouldn’t want to live that personally, though.
I don’t know. I’d give myself a chance to live. Laugh. Love. You know. BE A WALKING CLICHE!
Only not walking. Cause you know. I’m in a machine.
Also, is there not some sort of surge protector, or…back-up energy, or something? That’s really awful!
@Tallon5 - Ah, okay. It makes more sense now.
@desesperada - Two words – nuclear reactor.
If I could somehow live a happy life, then I would, even if I’m trapped in something like that.
@QuantumStorm - That’s a bit excessive, no?
Regardless, how did they not think of some backup to keep from that happening?
I would live long enough to go on a talent show, do a robot dance, and laugh until I died.
I’m not sure. My will to live and continue living is too strong to extinguish based on someone else’s experience.
Up to me, I’d most likely choose to live in a machine all my life, work past the adversity and still complete something satisfactory to me.
Who cares about what others think about the quality of my life?
It’s still my life and I’m still living it… am I not?
Yes
And to think I was pissed off when the power went off here yesterday. I never occurred to me that it could kill someone.
I think I’d still rather live. But it’d be hard to say, without actually being in the situation.
You’d think they ought to have had power generators or something. Jesus.
I think so. To me, having to be hooked up to a machine would not really be living anyway.
I think I’d prefer to die naturally than live in such a contraption. I remember seeing one of these things close up and it creeped me right out, makes me shudder just thinking about it. It’s not much of an existence to live in such a way, it could be questioned…is it actually living?
@UnworthyofHisgrace - My thoughts exactly. And besides, at three years old, “pulling the plug” really isn’t a decision that’s up to you. And by the time it is up to you, you’ve already been in there for 15 years. What’s another 40?
I would want to see if God had anything planned for my life. But if not I would want to go home.
she has a better tv than i do, so apparently someone takes care of her. i rather live.
i’d compare it to stephen hawking. he’s mobile and can’t communicate without a computer. this lady is immobile and has all of her braincells in tact. which would be the worse situation?
I could still SHINE for God in everything that I could say, while I was trapped in a machine.
I have to say usually I would want to live, but man that would suck living like that….
No. There’s still plenty of joy and wonders to see and enjoy in this world, why deprive myself of them?
There was also always the chance that a new breakthrough in medical technology would release me from the device. Its pretty amazing looking at how far we’ve come in the last 50 years alone.
To anyone born with a physical impediment, I hope you continue to have the strength to face each new day with hope and anticipation of what the world will bring.
i really would rather die- it would suck not to be able to live a normal life or have kids or anything
I think you should have asked her.
Kill me. Dear God, just kill me.
<33
well, i would rather die than be in a machine.
There is a reason for everything. And if I were to have to live in a machine like that all my life, then I would search out that reason and live it to the fullest for God.
Always With Love,
Shelby
When it is something that an iron lung that is so restrictive on your life, yes I would rather die but it would be difficult to have to make the decision to pull the plug on someone else.
I’d still want to see how the world evolves and how my family grows…
As much as it hurts, I’d probably still want to live.
I read the article and it seemed that she would rather live than die. She made the effort to write a children’s book to show children you should never give up.
I really cannot answer this question and I hope I never have to.
The difference between us and her is she never really knew any different being that she was in the machine from age 3. Compared to how we’ve all lived, most would find pretty much zero quality of life living in an iron lung.. I know I thought that when I read the article yesterday… but at the same time, people are funny… when faced with death, most are willing to do whatever it takes to live longer, however their life may change consequently.
One person’s nightmare when they’re in the best of health is their miracle when they’re at death’s door…
Oh yes I would indeed!!!
I’m amazed at every stupid comment here saying you would rather die. This boils down to would you rather face the known or unknown.
shows how easy it is to lie on a weblog….
i’m sure that every person who said they would rather die, if in the situation, would stick it out just like this woman did.
everyone thinks they’re so special.
death is unknown, what sense would it make to face a certain unknown, and leave the known world?
…it’s just so ironic, how she died by power failure after all this time…. very metaphoric to all of us though when you think about, one day you just turn on the light and the bulb flashes and goes out.
That’s what will happen to all of us eventually.
….I just think I would have had a back up generator….
Yes I think I would. Though I have a hard time with the whole concept of euthanasia for any reason.
@Orlando - That’s your own fear talking. Not every one shares those kind of fears.
In fact their are many people have made the same choice to terminate their own life. You only think it’s stupid because it disagrees with your opinion.
Wich by the way is the reason we have so many problems in the world today. No one is tolerant of other peoples opinions.
Interesting.
no, i think it’s stupid because it is a choice that cannot be undone. It is unnatural to end your own life, and this woman was not in pain.
She her self is evidence that her life was worth living. She accomplished more than many people by publishing a book and completing school when many people drop out.
I personally know people who are both blind and deaf, and quite successful and are some of the happiest people I know.
My opinion is based on work with the severely disabled and persons in many situations which you would have them end their own lives, their existence and happiness is evidence that life prevails.
What is stupid is how easily people will respond without the ability to understand that they cannot make such a decision without the personal experience. That people actually think their responses have anything to do with reality.
Suicide has a negative impact on society in general.
I am not talking about euthanasia for someone is severe pain, nor am I speaking from any type of religious view point.
Why is my opinion any less valid than someone who wants to go shoot their self without giving it a second thought?
I’d rather die than live like that because that isn’t living.
From the article…
Odell was determined to live a full life – she earned a diploma from
Jackson High School as a home-bound student and an honorary degree from
Freed-Hardeman College. A voice-activated computer allowed her to write
a children’s book, “Less Light,” about Blinky, a tiny star who dreams
of becoming a wishing star.
In a 2001 interview with The Associated Press, she said she wanted to
show children, especially those with physical disabilities, that they
should never give up.
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you see someone do the same thing,” she said.
@Orlando - They had one. It failed.
Holy shit… that is NO way to live.
i would go insane in that thing…
I’d rather die.
I wouldn’t want to live like that, but I’m really impressed with all she did – High school diploma, honorary college diploma, children’s storybook…wow. She certainly didn’t let it hold her down…ooh, bad pun, sorry!
I prefer dying than to spend my life inside a machine. :
Well, I’d like to say pull the plug, but because I don’t know what happens when you die (ie: reincarnation, or eternal life in heaven) it’s hard to say that dying would be a better alternative. I definitely wouldn’t want to be in that machine though.
I can’t imagine that was the only option for her to live…maybe when she was three cause the technology was minimal, but nowadays? That doesn’t seem right to me, but what do I know?
Final answer, yes, I’ll take Death for 1000 please.
I suppose I should have read the link prior to commenting. I guess that was her only option, ftl!
Yes.
DEATH!
i think the real question is, would you rather spend your life having a TV in your face 24/7 or death?
i wouldn’t want to live in a machine. no thanks.
why didn’t they have a backup generator?
Just because you can’t move doesn’t mean that you can’t have a vivid life of the mind, or have gifts for other things. Why write off a life like hers as one not worth living? She didn’t.
i would rather be thrown off a cliff
I can give an answer easily because I don’t require any machine to live. However, whatever my answer is at the moment I’m sure would be different if it would ever come down to that.
yes i would. i don’t consider life in a machine to be really living.
I’m thinking yeah, I’d rather die.
@porcupinesol - That’s what I thought.
I honestly think, w/ technology being what it is today – couldn’t they have gotten something better made/created for her since the 1920s? I just don’t get it.
@desesperada - Okay, okay, maybe not a nuclear reactor… but at the very least, a T1 power generator? Maybe with a power storage unit or two or three?
Anyone?
C’mon, people.
Yes, I would rather die. You aren’t living a life in a tube. I never want to be in a vegetative state either. I want to live until I can’t take care of myself anymore.
Amanda
omg. that’s crazy. i don’t know that’s a hard question.. maybe her parents wanted something for her better than nothing.. at when she was old enough to decide she was so comfortable with the iron lung condition that she didn’t want to give it up. .. what a horrible way to die though.
I would want to die.
She really didn’t know any other way of life, though.
i’d rather die then
yes, because there’s no point in living like that.
Yes. I would feel so useless and like a complete drain on my family.
i would want to live it because it’s all i know..and it is who i am.
The people who did that to her… Let her live a lifetime in a prison like that… they deserve the death penalty.
Yes, but then again, that’s because I know better. She was in there her whole life so she never really knew any different.
Without a doubt
die
No grass inbetween my toes…….ever……..:(
Yes, remember that if I ever veg out.
@QuantumStorm - Well, whatever, AS LONG AS I DON’T DIE.
That’s kind of the key part, really.
Argh! Let me die! to her credit she was still able to contribute to society through writing books ( dictating them more like, ) but I don’t know if I would have that kind of will……And for the fact the your life is literally in the hands of others?
awwh that’s so sad ><
:T i think i’d rather die ~ i’m not brave enough.
Yeah. I cant imagine spending most of my life in that thing! I wouldn’t be able to live like that at all.
Yes.
hope she didn’t die too painfully..=[
OMG…would I rather die than spend my whole life in a machine? HA HA HA — we’re all living part of our lives in FRONT of a machine this very second reading this blog….what’s the big difference?
Ooof. Definitely.
What kind of life would you have in an iron lung?
I’d probably cut the power cord myself.
It’s really hard to imagine how the lady can bear it for so many years.
Yes, death please.
i would, whats the point of living when you can’t move?
i wonder how she went to the potty…
Give me liberty or give me death…in this case it would be both.
i don’t really know, but, it seems like it would be absolute misery being trapped in a machine like that.
no
That must be the worst punishment anyone can get. Slow and painful. I would choose to die than live my whole life in a machine.
I think I would choose DEATH. Especially if my mind was constantly being numbed by that stupid TV up there.
I am really shocked by all these yes responses…I guess my philsophical handle is uber-quirky or something
I also feel like going through this post and friending everyone who said “no.” =)
kill me please
yes.
I’d rather die.
DIE…..I could not live that way..what a long time it must of felt like to her..
Poor thing!
It depends on the situation…I want to live my life though..so if I had to be confined like this, I would do it until I couldnt take it anymore..
bring on the death -.-’
oh yes! i wouldn’t want to be in a tube just laying there.
Nope, I’d want to live.
i would want to be put down before i got put into a machine
Yes. What a miserable time :c