Let him go! Former president Nelson Mandela is being kept alive only by machines

[malaise]

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-07-04-report-nelson-mandela-is-in-a-vegetative-state
<snip>
Former president Nelson Mandela is being kept alive only by machines, say partially corroborated reports.

Reports on Thursday said Nelson Mandela is in a "permanent vegetative state" according to his doctors, who have advised that the machines keeping him alive should be switched off.

News agency Agence France-Presse said it has obtained court documents containing the claim by Mandela’s family, echoing similar earlier reports.


"The Mandela family have been advised by the medical practitioners that his life support machine should be switched off."

In court documents that were made public on Wednesday, Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe Mandela described his health as “perilous”, and confirmed that the elder statesman was on a ventilator.
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[Tx4obama]

1. Doctors deny reports Nelson Mandela is in a 'vegetative state'

Breaking @BreakingNews

South Africa Presidency: Doctors deny reports Nelson Mandela is in a 'vegetative state' - @PresidencyZA http://bit.ly/12oY96t

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews/status/352889291078242305

Clarification on the health of former President Mandela

04 July 2013
The Presidency has noted media reports about the condition of former President Nelson Mandela and would like to make a clarification.

Former President Mandela has been and remains under the care of a multi-disciplinary panel of South African medical experts drawn from the South Africa Military Health Services, the public sector, the universities and the private sector. Under this panel a team of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health professionals attend to Madiba on a 24 hour basis.


We confirm our earlier statement released this afternoon after President Jacob Zuma visited Madiba in hospital that Madiba remains in a critical, but stable condition. The doctors deny that the former President is in a vegetative state.

http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=15682

[malaise]

2. Mandela should be allowed to die peacefully in his own bed at home

This is way too sad

[Posteritatis]

3. Probably best to just ignore any reports about the guy that don't get massively corroborated.

People have been making stuff up about him since the day he was hospitalized; as far as I've been able to tell there've been three rounds of claiming he's dead. If I don't see something in multiple news sources, including at least a couple I recognize, I'm just assuming it's more of the same.

[malaise]

4. Yep - you're right n/t

[ellisonz]

5. Having just dealt with this in our family...

...it was most certainly the best decision to let my uncle die at home in peace.

[malaise]

6. My dad died at home

and although mom died in a New York hospital she had a living will.
We were all taught very early that the ultimate philosophical truth is that every living thing eventually dies. It's OK to prolong life if their is likely to be quality of life. Why do that to a 94 year old man.
Maybe they want to celebrate his 95th birthday - but it should be about him,not them.

[HipChick]

8. I just went through this with my Aunt..

we didn't have time to even bring her home...she was up sitting in bed and laughing on a Sunday, and dead by that Wednesday...
she was surrounded by all her family,but its just not the same when its a clinical setting..

[pipoman]

7. Is there a significant date

in the next week or so? I am not well studied in South African or Mandela history beyond the basics of the Apartheid Movement..

[loyalsister]

9. I think it's sick that news outlets would sensationalize this

It seems to me that it would be something that most of us would want to be kept private.

[MiniMe]

10. I just hope they don't turn Mandela into an Ariel Sharon

Who is still being kept alive by machines. Not that I'm a fan of Sharon, but what a terrible existence.

[hrmjustin]

11. I hope his last days are peaceful!