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Patient file #6:
Schiavo, Theresa Marie "Terri" (1963-2005) fell victim to cardio-respiratory arrest (causes unclear) in 1990. She was in a persistent vegetative state for fifteen years. Her husband and her parents waged a fierce legal battle with each other, with her husband claiming she would not have wanted the life-prolonging support. Michael Schiavo's efforts eventually succeeded, and Terri Schiavo died after thirteen days without her feeding tube.
Patient file #7:
Von Bulow, Sunny (1932-2008) was an heiress and socialite who fell into a persistent vegetative state (causes unclear) in 1980. She stayed in it for almost twenty-eight years, until she died in a nursing home.
Patient file #8:
Englaro, Eluana (1970-2009) was an Italian woman in a persistent vegetative state for seventeen years after a car accident. She became the intense focus of a battle between supporters and opponents of euthanasia, dubbed Italy's "Terri Schiavo." Her father fought a decade-long legal battle to let his daughter die, per what he argued were her wishes. He and her friends testified in court, giving evidence she would not have wanted to artificially prolong her life. She died four days after the removal of life support.
Patient file #9:
Cheng, Chi (1970- alive as of October 2011) was the bassist in the American rock band Deftones. He was in a car accident in 2008 and remains in a minimally conscious state. He tracks people with his eyes, sometimes can make responses with words, and can purposefully, although slightly, move his hands.
Patient file #10:
Wallis, Terry (1964-alive as of October 2011) spent almost twenty years in a minimally conscious state before regaining awareness. In 2003, unexpectedly, he began to speak. He still lives with disabilities produced by the automobile accident that caused his condition and continues to receive extensive speech and physical therapy.
Patient file #11:
Sharon, Ariel (1928-alive as of October 2011) was Israel's eleventh prime minister. He suffered a massive stroke on January 4, 2006, and remains in a persistent vegetative state. He has survived despite severe kidney and lung problems. As of 2010, the formally robust, 255-pound Ariel Sharon weighed 110 pounds.
CHECK OUT Q. KELLY'S OTHER BOOKS,
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Strange Bedfellows: What happens when the queen of the ex-gay movement decides to come out of the closet? The person who helps Frances Dourne with this enormous task is a call girl Frances hires. A call girl with a secret of her own. Can they learn to trust each other enough to find the love they seek in each other's arms?
Frances is grappling with something else, too. Her daughter, Marissa, has been gone 11 years. She was kidnapped by her father on her third birthday. Frances hopes her coming out will ease the way for Marissa's return.
*****
The Odd Couple: Morrisey Hawthorne and her four-year-old son, Gareth, have a pretty good life. Then one day they meet Charlene Sudsbury, who is trying to move on from the suicide of her son, JP, three years before. Gareth is nearly the mirror image of JP, and Charlene connects instantly with him. Not quite so with Morrisey, who can't escape fast enough after Charlene shows her a picture of JP. Charlene is convinced Morrisey is hiding something and sets out in search of the truth.
Despite the circumstances, the two women form an unusual bond and end up with a lot more than they bargained for. But when an old friend of JP's resurfaces, he challenges the fragile trust Morrisey and Charlene have been building.
Can these two women overcome the obstacles that separate them from the happiness they seek?
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