I wrote this article a few months ago, and completely forgot about it. I ran across it and decided to put it up now, even though it's somewhat outdated.
The Problem With Stupid People part 2: The Stupid Nephew
I recently came down with some cold/flu type sickness and had to stay home from work for a couple days. I should have known better than to watch the news, but I did, and now I'm mad. I'm mad because I live in a world full of people so friggin' stupid it's un-be-damn-lievable. Nothing has riled me up enough to get me to write an article in months, but this news story did just that, and did it well. For those of you who don't live in Houston or haven't already heard, here's a short version of the story:
This guy, Dr. Ndiyob (ha ha ha... I actually laugh out loud every time I try to pronounce this guy's name. "Nuh-dee-yobb?") had a heart attack back in December and his heart stopped five times while doctors tried to resuscitate him. He was brain-dead by mid-January and has been at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on life-support since then. Ndiyob's family wanted to keep him on life support, but the hospital decided that since there was absolutely no chance of recovery, that he should be taken off and allowed to die. Texas law allows the hospital to override the family's wishes after 10 days have passed, but Ndiyob's nephew went to court trying to have the law thrown out. He tried to find another hospital to take his uncle, but no one would because he has no health insurance. The guy died anyway on Thursday morning (March 22) so I guess it doesn't really matter anymore.
There are a few things I
can tell about Nephew before even hearing him speak:
1. He's probably extremely religious
2. As a child, his parents never made any attempt to explain death to him in
a truthful way, so he now goes through life with blinders on
3. It never occurred to him until now that everyone dies, no matter what
After hearing Nephew speak, the first of my observations was proven true. He said in court that he and Ndiyob's other relatives believe god makes all things and only god should take away human life. Uh, I hate to break it to you, Nephie, but God already tried to take his life away... five times if I remember correctly. If god makes all things, then god made this guy's heart attack. Human intervention is the only thing that saved him from death back in January, and I fail to see the logic in this guy's thinking. The only thing I can figure must have been going through his mind is, "Well, god attempted to take my uncle's life 5 or 6 times, but I think he might have been jumping the gun a little bit, so I'll just keep Unkie here on life support indefinitely in case god changes his mind and decides to bring him back to life." The doctors at Hermann said he was brain-dead, and he said they were wrong. He was quoted as actually saying, "Leave him be. He is not dead yet. He is not brain dead yet." All those years of medical school must have been a big waste of time and money for the doctors, because according to this Cameroonian immigrant nephew, they're unable to accurately diagnose braindeadness. "Doctor, my throat hurts and I've been coughing. What do you think it could be?" "Hmm... Looks like an acute case of braindead." Doctors don't just THROW that term around willy-nilly; when they say it, they mean it! He bitched and moaned and whined in front of a judge to get the hospital to change their mind, and in the end, what did it get him? His uncle died anyway. If there could have been a conversation between god and all the people involved, this is what I imagine it sounding like:
God: I think I'm going to
kill this dude. * ZAP *
Doctors: Oh no you're not! * revive * revive * revive *
God: Yeah, actually I am. * ZAP * ZAP * ZAP * ZAP * ZAP *
Nephew: Lord, give me a sign.
God: I just did, you idiot. I made his heart stop five fucking times.
Doctors (three months later): Dang, he's brain-dead.
Nephew: No he isn't.
God and Doctors simultaneously: YES HE IS!
Nephew: But we must keep him alive in case god decides to perform a miracle
and make him not be brain-dead anymore!
God: I don't do things like that, remember?
Everyone except Nephew: Oh yeah.
God: And just because I'm a big fan of irony, I think I'll kill him on the day
you go to court to get them to let you keep him alive. * ZAP *
Nephew: Good thing I fought over this, otherwise my uncle might have... died...
D'OH!
I will never understand why so many people have their head up their ass about the subject of death. Everyone dies. No matter how healthy you eat, no matter what drugs they invent to combat disease, no matter how careful and cautious you are, you're going to die eventually. When I was a kid, my parents never lied to me about death. And they never beat around the bush, either. People seem to avoid that word like the plague and call it things like "went to sleep" or "pass away" or "went to heaven." Death is hard on everyone, but not facing up to it makes it a hell of a lot worse, as evidenced by the fact that Nephew refused to accept his uncle's death as inevitable. People will do anything and everything they can to prolong life, which is good to a certain point. But there comes a time when you just have to stop and say, "Hey, what the hell are we doing? If no one ever dies, we wonąt have enough money, food, or space to support them all!" No matter what you believe about what happens to someone when they die, delaying it doesn'tąt make it any easier.
And another thing... the guy had no health insurance, and I'm willing to bet that Nephew won't be footing the hospital bill. They've spent literally millions of dollars keeping the guy alive all this time, and for what? For NOTHING, that's what. Keeping Ndiyob alive all that time served absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than to delay the inevitable moment when Nephew would finally have to face the truth and deal with death. They were waiting for a miracle to magically bring him back to them. What did they think his life would be like if he did come back? He'd be a vegetable at best. (SIDE NOTE: tee hee hee... this is a quote copied and pasted directly from the article on click2houston.com: "Ndiyob has been in a vegetarian state for two months, ever since he collapsed during a massive heart attack." I guess it's hard to get meat through the IV.)
I wish there were some sort of plug you could pull on stupid people, because I'd be the first to pull it on Nephew, given the chance.