There was a girl in the 1970s who drank spiked punch at a party. This was before the word "raves" existed. She didn't know what she was drinking. She went into a coma and lived for about ten years in a vegetative state. I never found out whatever happened to the guys who spiked the punch. Anyone know/remember ?
That was back in New Jersey, Duncan. She had popped a couple of Reds and went out drinking and passed out on the barroom floor. It was a big legal hoo-ha about pulling her from life-support. Her parents spent years in court in Morristown, NJ... They won their case, and the plug was pulled. Surprisingly, she began breathing on her own, was moved to a rehabilitation facility, and has gained some of her brain activity back again... how much, I don't recall. What ever made you think of this?
Came up for two reasons, ~Sam~. Firstly, someone mentioned the Son of Sam (no pun intended) and that was about the same time as this. Secondly, Karen Ann was mentioned in my nursing class when the topic of the right to die came up. She was, for all intents and purposes, brain dead. Karen Ann lasted in the vegetative coma for about 10 years.
So, I'm confused...I remember hearing about her in high school...is she physically alive, or did she die? I thought I remembered that she did eventually die, but my memory is foggy...Sam, I think you are saying that she is still alive...sorry if I'm reading it wrong...good topic, Duncan!
Quinlan, Karen Ann On April 15, 1975, Karen Quinlan lapsed into a coma, apparently as a result of consuming alcohol and drugs. Karen was brought unconscious to a hospital emergency room. After her condition stabilized, feeding required a nasogastric tube (artificial nutrition and hydration) and breathing required a respirator. She was eventually diagnosed as being in a permanent coma, i.e., a permanent vegetative state in current terminology. Karen Quinlan’s father sought court appointment as guardian of her person for the express purpose of authorizing removal of her respirator, whether or not she died as a consequence. He was opposed not only by Karen’s physicians but by the local prosecutor and the state attorney general. The New Jersey trial court denied Mr. Quinlan’s request to be appointed guardian and also his request to terminate the use of the respirator, holding in effect that the decision was solely that of the attending physicians acting in accordance with prevailing medical standards. It rejected the argument that there is a viable legal distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means to sustain life. The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the decision and granted Mr. Quinlan’s request. Karen’s physicians gradually weaned her from the respirator during May of 1976. She continued to breathe on her own. Her father did not want artificial nutrition and hydration stopped, though the Supreme Court gave permission for all life-support to be withdrawn. Karen lived another ten years. In its considerations regarding this case, the New Jersey Supreme Court advocated giving decision-making authority to a hospital ethics committee (which were still largely non-existent at the time). As a result of this case, ethics committees grew in number and debate arose regarding their appropriate role and authority. Most experts now agree that any authority an ethics committee has is limited and must appropriately respect the decision-making authority that properly belongs to patients, surrogates, and care-providers. [Source: In Re Quinlan, 355 A.2d. (N.J. 1976).] The above is sort of what I remember about these doings. We left the area in '80 so any news of her condition weren't part of my new locale updates. Good to see you here again, Sus. You've been missed. Ah, Duncan........ medical ethics. Wonderful study of the absurd, isn't it? Karen's mother has opened up a clinic in Newton, NJ in her name. Sam
I am prety sure she died. I had thought of her a lot over the years. As this was a New Jersey story. As Sam said the big story was the "pull the plug" ordeal her parents went through. When she kept on living it realy made me think a lot about God and what was his plan for this poor young girl. Always felt so bad for her parents, she I felt was in a peacefull sleep. I am sure I remember reading she died.
