Well, since everyone else is putting in their 2 cents...
My uncle was in a very bad motorcycle accident years ago & had to have a blood transfusion. He contracted Hepatitis B from the transfusion which is incurable & you end up dieing from complications, not from the actual virus, much like AIDS. He just recently died, after having suffered from this disease & all the medical problems that came with it for years. He was able to have a family during his life, but I will tell you that they suffered right along with him & his kids are really, really messed up about this. They will have permanent damage to them for the rest of their lives... in fact on of them had to be commited for severe depression. They are all having a very difficult time moving on with their lives.
On the other hand, my ex-boyfriend's brother died a few years ago in a motorcycle accident. It was a horrible shock & was very hard for us to all get through, especially because he was so loved by all. Tears are actually streaming down my face now as I think about this tragedy-these tragedies- suffered in my life. While it was unexpected & sudden, a small fact helped us to deal with our loss... that he died instantly, probably felt no pain at all, & that he died doing something that he loved.
We all still wonder "what if he lived & was a vegetable or paralyzed?" We all wished we could have him back, no matter what state he was in, but realized that it's selfish of us because we know he couldn't have been happy in life being in a vegetative state or paralyzed. He's the kind of person that would have made the best out of it... and god I wish we could have him back! But to see him suffer or for his death to have dragged on, knowing none of us could ever pull the plug, perhaps it was a blessing that he passed so quickly. I don't think I could've dealt with seeing him suffer, but I still feel the pain to this day.
So anyway... now I'm just sitting here crying my eyes out & I don't know where I am on this thing. I have to agree with the other people here that if you haven't ever been severely depressed, then you have no idea what it's like. And I can honestly say that if you are one of those depressed people who is considering suicide & is thinking about other people, the only thing about them you're thinking is that they don't care & they probably won't come to your funeral anyway.
I think what happened to the guy is a horrible tragedy, but until you've been in his shoes, or his family's shoes I find it very hard for people on here to pass judgement. I know I can't. What if he had died in that accident? Would that make it a bigger tragedy or a smaller one? Who's to say? NO ONE.
