They say politics makes strange bedfellows, but so does religion. I went to visit my mom's best friend recently. She's in the hospital with a malignant tumour in her bowel that's bleeding. Her blood count has dropped to 79. They want to go in asap to remove the tumour, but because her blood count is so low and because, as a JW, she won't take blood, then the risks of her dying are A LOT higher. Anyway, the doctor came in while we were there and he went through everything with her (she wanted us to stay) and told her that while he respected her religious beliefs, he had to tell her of the potential consequences. He asked if there was anything she would take, but because she didn't have her blood card with her, she had no idea at all as to what she could and couldn't take.
I stepped in and told the doctor that there are some things they can take, but none of these 'fractions' would be of any benefit to her in her condition. She needs packed red cells that carry the oxygen to the lungs and of course, this is on the 'do not pass go' list. I asked if there was any treatment, drugs or therapy that can replace the oxygen in the red cells, even though I was 99.99% of the answer even before he told me. Bottom line is: we won't have that technology for a few more decades at least.
After the doctor left, she said she was so happy we were there to help because she wouldn't remember anything that he said. I thought "well isn't this ironic: an apostate trying to help an elderly JW through a life and death decision.'
What was so sad and pathetic is that she started preaching to the doctor about how it was a 'conscience matter', etc. etc. I thought "oh god, this is the definition of insanity: preaching to the doctor who's trying to save your life, about how great the cult is that is, more or less, forcing you to possibly commit suicide.'
I actually had a conversation with a Witness about the blood recently on-line. They of course gave me the old: 'if the doctor told you to abstain from blood, would you inject it into your veins?' I said "if it was going to save my life? Absolutely'. I then said to him: 'If your doctor told to abstain from eating organ meat (which means no liver & onions or steak and kidney pie), and then 6 months down the road you were told you needed a kidney transplant, would you refuse on the grounds that "my doctor told me to abstain from eating organ meat"?
Never heard back from him.
