WAITING

There has been pretty much nonstop TV coverage of Sharon's condition in Israeli TV. In fact, it's gone on and on and in the end not reported much *new*s. They just repeat themselves endlessly and get medical experts on to second guess the docs who have the impossible job of treating(trying to save him from their mistakes) him. If (and I say this with great caution) the reports on the meds he received after the first stroke are accurate, Sharon is a victim of gross(not malicious, just overkill, hoping that by overtreating him they could save him) medical malpractice. That much anti coagulation medication is a good way to ensure that he'd bleed out from even a hangnail if it bled. It's too late to second guess about anything that was done because we can't go back in time and change anything. I'm just noting it, and will file it away under "things to keep in mind when....." What were those doctors thinking when they prescribed those dosages of those drugs? Haddassah Ein Karem is supposedly the best hospital in the country, but this makes me wonder. Every time the bleed starts they drag him off to yet another operation, and even more damage is done. The doctors proudly announced that his brain stem looks like it escaped any damage. That's nice, but if the rest of his brain is a cauliflower patch, what good is it? That just leaves him with basic body functions and damn little else.
People have been dragging out stories about patients who woke up from severe brain trauma and relearned everything. All those cases were of much younger people. It's not very helpful to hand out hope of a miracle that is not medically possible. I can't help but feel that we are being lied to at every turn. Anyone with the slightest bit of medical knowledge can put the pieces together and figure things out for themselves.
The religious fanatics are all trying to out do each other with divine reasoning that this is his punishment for going against G-d's will. It may well be, I rather think it is, but not so much a punishment as a way to put a stop to any more. I'm no theologian, but I do think that the so called religious leaders from all denominations should just keep their mouths shut. G-d can take it up with him as and when. Ok, ok, so I don't follow my own advice to the clergy, but, hey! I'm not exactly a person of influence, so there's no danger of too many people being swayed by my views. According to the news they are going to try and disconnect him from the machines after Shabbat or maybe on Sunday. For his sake, I hope they leave him be if he can't survive without them. It's not that I want him dead, I don't, I just want him out of office, which he is in any event. If it's time, it's time.
Of course this all fits in very neatly with my own take on life and death. I think that we are all here for a purpose and when we've fulfilled it, we die. In a vain attempt to second guess the divinity,I think that Sharon has done what he was supposed to do and now it's time for him to go and let the next generation go on from there. There's a lot of talk about his legacy, and the pundits have pointed out that his legacy is mostly made up of contradictions so it will be very hard to follow because no one really knows what it is.
Then there's my own person opinion of the differences between Sharon and Rabin's deaths. Rabin was allowed to be murdered by a fellow Jew. Sharon was taken (is being taken) by G-d himself. Both made huge mistakes, but Rabin's were more grievous than Sharon's. I have some level of understanding of this, but I'm having trouble finding the correct words in English. You work on it for a while! My brain is tired.