Unimaginable Anguish

I have been reacting to the story of Susan Torres and her family. This 26 year old mother of a 2 year old has been in the midst of an extraordinary battle between life and death. She contracted cancer some months ago. This aggressive form of melanoma struck her brain and she suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. In the normal course of things she would have died as a result of the hemorrhage - a condition that left her brain dead. One factor complicated this situation and caused her to become national news. She was pregnant at the time of her hemorrhage. Her husband was faced with the most agonizing of decisions. He chose to quit his job, sit by her side in the hospital room for the last months, and await the time when the baby might be born alive and healthy. This week, with her body functions decreasing rapidly, doctors delivered the 1lb. 13 oz. Infant by caesarian section. The infant (named Susan after her mother) is only 32 weeks old (full term is 40 weeks) and has a 25% chance of contracting the cancer that killed her mother. According to reports, people from around the world have responded by donating $400,000 for medical bills incurred by the family during this tragic time.
Amazingly there has been no outcry. She was given last rites by the Catholic Church just prior to life support being removed. Her parents did not sue nor did her husband take them to court. No media attention was focused on the feud between families because there was none. No lawyers went in front of the news cameras to explain their legal position. The governor of Virginia was not called into the situation and the U.S. Congress passed no legislation aimed at keeping her or the baby alive. How different from the Terry Schiavo case. And I've been wondering why?
Is it because a baby is worth more than a brain damaged adult? Is it because being in a persistent vegetative state has less value than being pregnant in a brain damaged state? Is it because the end justifies the means? Is it because there is life at the end of this rather than just death? Is it because we don't know what to do with the medical knowledge we have when it comes to the ethical questions about life and death? Or, is it because families come together at times of great stress and anguish and make horrendous decisions together rather than get into a public spat about what should be a private matter?
When my parents died my two brothers and I sat down at our parents home and decided how to divide the contents of the home. There was no arguing or complaining. In sadness we sat down as brother and as a family and took whatever we really wanted as a keepsake and divided the rest by lot (sounds like the second chapter of Acts, doesn't it?). That's what families do. When the tough times come, they learn how to come together rather than finding ways to split apart. I cannot imagine what it took for Susan's husband, Jason, must have gone through to decide what and how to do. But he did it with his family in support and lending him whatever comfort or help they could. I know this because there was no spat, no fighting, no arguing. Just a couple of grandparents caring for the 2 yr. old (Peter) while his Dad sat next to his Mom waiting for the unimaginable day when his brother would be born and his mother would die.
I don't know what little Susan will grow up to be but I do know she has a chance to become who and what God intended her to be because the family has given her that chance. No lawyers, reporters, judges or politicians. Just her family. And that's the way it should be. Amen.