Young Husband and Father-To-Be Makes His Own Decision To End Life Support Just One Day After Hunting Accident – Did He Do The Right Thing? [Video]
A young, successful newlywed and father-to-be chose to end his life, rather then be paralyzed, just one day after a hunting accident that took place over the weekend.
This morning people are wondering if he made the right decision and if he gave himself enough time to consider all of his options.
Tim Bowers, 32, from Indiana, seemed to have everything to look forward to. He owned a successful auto business, he was recently married and a father-to-be. Tim also had a passion for being outdoors, and on Saturday he suffered a freak hunting accident. Tim fell roughly 16 feet from a tree stand and suffered a severe spinal injury that doctors said would leave him paralyzed from the shoulders down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe, although his brain function was not affected. Surgery could fuse his broken vertebrae, but that would only allow Tim to sit up.
Tim had always been vocal to his family about never wanting to be confined to a wheelchair, so when they heard the grim diagnosis they asked doctors treating Tim at Fort Wayne's Lutheran Hospital to bring him out of sedation long enough to answer one very simple question. Do you want this? He couldn't talk because of the ventilator tube, but he very strongly shook his head no, his sister Jenny said. Doctors asked the same question and received the same vehement response.
The ventilator tube was removed on Sunday, and Tim passed away a few hours later, just one day after his accident.
More in the video below.
This tragic story raises a lot of ethical questions to many. We would like to hear from you in the poll below.