Results 1 to 43 of 43

Thread: Deaf twins end lives to avoid going blind.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,854

    Deaf twins end lives to avoid going blind.

    Deaf twin brothers Marc and Eddy Verbessem of Belgium decided to end their lives in tandem rather than go blind.
    The 45-year-olds, who lived and worked as cobblers together their entire adult lives, were doomed to blindness by a genetic form of glaucoma, and couldn't bear the thought of being unable to see each other, according to their family.
    Their older brother Dirk and their parents, Mary and Remy, attempted to talk them out of it, but were eventually persuaded that it was for the best.
    It took the brothers two years, but they eventually found a doctor willing to perform the lethal injection.

    http://gawker.com/5975946/deaf-twins...ing-each-other

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    1,336
    Sorry, I believe this is incredibly stupid.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    The Sticks
    Posts
    37,601
    You know what? The very thought of being deaf and losing my sight scares the shit out of me.
    GOD IS NOT DEAD





  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    30,241
    how romantic
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  5. #5
    MoonRabbit Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cindyt View Post
    You know what? The very thought of being deaf and losing my sight scares the shit out of me.
    Same here!
    I'm all for euthanasia after watching a relative suffer in extreme pain with cancer.
    These two were consenting adults and made their own choice. I'm happy for them.
    Sometimes death is not the worst thing that can happen.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    6,302
    Quote Originally Posted by RiotBoots View Post
    Deaf twin brothers Marc and Eddy Verbessem of Belgium decided to end their lives in tandem rather than go blind.
    The 45-year-olds, who lived and worked as cobblers together their entire adult lives, were doomed to blindness by a genetic form of glaucoma, and couldn't bear the thought of being unable to see each other, according to their family.
    Their older brother Dirk and their parents, Mary and Remy, attempted to talk them out of it, but were eventually persuaded that it was for the best.
    It took the brothers two years, but they eventually found a doctor willing to perform the lethal injection.

    http://gawker.com/5975946/deaf-twins...ing-each-other
    What a sad but bittersweet story.

    Imagine it happening here in North America
    the news media and politicians would go crazy
    for their own agenda.

    Noone can understand until we were in the
    place of the twin brothers.
    Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.

  7. #7
    Meli Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cindyt View Post
    You know what? The very thought of being deaf and losing my sight scares the shit out of me.

    I couldnt agree more. I love music and life would suck if I couldnt listen to Freddie Mercury sing to me, however adding to that with blindness and not being able to see my children or paint another picture, would be to much to bear.

  8. #8
    pwem Guest
    I don't think it is stupid. To me it was an act of desperation.

    Going blind is something I can't even imagine.

    I commend the doctor involved for listening and doing the right thing by his patients. We may not agree but it is what the brothers wanted.

  9. #9
    Katrinawitch Guest
    We often play the 'would you rather' game at dinner, and have discussed "would you rather be blind or deaf' ad nauseum. I can't imagine being deaf, and then going blind. How would you function? It would totally suck, and I wouldn't be able to just be 'inside my head' for the rest of my life. I maybe would have chosen the same path, who knows. I'm glad their family understands, and there was a doctor to help them.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Quote Originally Posted by MoonRabbit View Post
    Same here!
    I'm all for euthanasia after watching a relative suffer in extreme pain with cancer.
    These two were consenting adults and made their own choice. I'm happy for them.
    Sometimes death is not the worst thing that can happen.
    And sometimes it's a person's perception of things. For instance, I am rapidly losing my vision and can see about half as well as I could two weeks ago. And I'm having a lot of pain in my eyes because of it (you wouldn't believe how much I have this page zoomed just to be able to see it. Damned reply is taking up the whole window, lol. Anyway...) I will find out tomorrow if this is permanent, will get worse and become total blindness or if it will get better. Right now I have to wear sunglasses in the house because of the glare. No matter what happens, I won't be offing myself. Even if I were deaf on top of it. I live in one of the most crime infested neighborhoods in town, my front door is at the top of two icy flights of concrete stairs and I would lose my first love: driving. But I am uberorganized and would be able to find what I need. I would be able to hug my mom, daughter and granddaughter. I would be able to speak. And I have talk to type software and can install type to talk as well, so I'd definitely still come here to give you guys shit.

    In other words, to me, offing ones' self due to deafness and blindness is not an option to me. It just is not how I do things. In fact, it seems self-serving and self-centered to me. I feel badly for these two that they thought it was their only option. Obviously their family cared enough about them to try to talk them out of it.

    PS. Please stop sending me pm requests to moderate right now. The regular shit that needs to be done around here on a daily basis is more than enough. The difference between the two being that while I enjoy moderating here (which must mean I'm crazy as well as half blind) is, the regular stuff I do when I feel like it. PM requests are obviously for more urgent things and should be sent to mods who it isn't laborious to deal with urgent. Thanks all for understanding.
    Last edited by SomeChick; 01-16-2013 at 08:33 PM.
    .

  11. #11
    Starstruck Guest
    I am a firm believer in euthanasia and don't think anyone would make such a decision lightly, having had to turn
    off life support for my own son so he wouldn't suffer anymore is not something I wish on anyone but is something his
    father brother and I did with great love.
    These two brothers loved each other very much and made a decision for them and them alone it is their life and their
    choice to make.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    canadia
    Posts
    4,430
    Good thing no one told Helen Keller she would be better off dead.

    "...Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She is remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities, amid numerous other causes. She was a suffragist, a pacifist...In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International (HKI) organization. This organization is devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Keller traveled to 40 some-odd countries with Sullivan, making several trips to Japan and becoming a favorite of the Japanese people. Keller met every U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain...."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Quote Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
    Good thing no one told Helen Keller she would be better off dead.

    "...Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She is remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities, amid numerous other causes. She was a suffragist, a pacifist...In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International (HKI) organization. This organization is devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Keller traveled to 40 some-odd countries with Sullivan, making several trips to Japan and becoming a favorite of the Japanese people. Keller met every U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain...."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
    They probably did what with her being considered an animal (Really.) by some in the beginning back then. And in return she gave giving up the mental finger after realizing she could lead a productive life thanks to a patient teacher who did not consider her an animal or useless (again, really.).
    .

  14. #14
    pwem Guest
    ((((((((((SomeChick)))))))))) Sending you hugs and peaceful thoughts

  15. #15
    Nelliebean Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by theotherlondon View Post
    What a sad but bittersweet story.

    Noone can understand until we were in the
    place of the twin brothers.

    That's about it.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    30,241
    Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing at 19 months of age. These guys are in their 40s. Its infinitely more difficult for them to adapt to no sight or hearing then it was for Helen Keller whose brain was still developing language and communication skills.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Middle Earth
    Posts
    13,009
    The older you get the harder it is to accept change. This was an intensely personal decision for them. I wish we had better end of life options in the US. They considered blindness too much of a deterioration in the quality of their lifes.
    Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    2,441
    I don't know that I really agree with what these men did. I too have watched a loved one suffer a terminal illness. But that is the key, to me anyway, terminal illness. I do feel sorry for these men, as I would not wish this kind of illness on anyone, but they were not terminally ill nor where they in physical pain. Someone dying of cancer, kidney failure, respiratory illness is one thing. But going blind, on top of being deaf, to me, does not warrant euthanasia. And why did both of them have to die?

    I work at a funeral home and I see all kinds of death, infants, children, teenagers, middle aged, elderly and two US Soldiers who died in the 2 wars in the middle east. I've seen all manners of death too, suicides, car accidents, natural death and even two cases of auto-erotic asphyxiation (sorry just had to throw that one there just so this post doesn't seem too heavy ).

    I guess what I'm trying to say is, that what I see on a daily basis makes me cherish life, even with bad things that the human body can do to itself, I still cherish each day I have on this earth. These twins could have still had meaning in their lives, in their family's lives ect....Sure, they would have had to adapt to their changing medical condition, but they didn't want to give that a chance.

    What really bothers me is that with the rapid advances in medical technology now in the 21st Century, who knows if they could have come up with a device to help them hear or a new medical procedure to help them see in just a few years. People with terminal diseases don't have that chance.
    Last edited by NewEnglander; 01-17-2013 at 07:23 PM.
    Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.

  19. #19
    pwem Guest
    New Englander, that is an interesting take on life you have. I used to know a medic who felt that all the tragedy and horror she saw just made her feel life was cheap. Sort of a here today and gone tomorrow kind of thing.

  20. #20
    RebelRocker Guest
    while i feel that they made an unwise decision, they thought about this for a long time. they must have felt death was the better choice. i cant even begin to imagine not hearing and then slowly going blind, not a good feeling.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing at 19 months of age. These guys are in their 40s. Its infinitely more difficult for them to adapt to no sight or hearing then it was for Helen Keller whose brain was still developing language and communication skills.
    I wouldn't see it that way. Instead I'd think that since we could still see, we should start working together to learn the same hand-in-palm signing that Helen and her teacher used in the beginning, while we had that advantage.
    .

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    2,441
    Quote Originally Posted by pwem View Post
    New Englander, that is an interesting take on life you have. I used to know a medic who felt that all the tragedy and horror she saw just made her feel life was cheap. Sort of a here today and gone tomorrow kind of thing.
    I guess that is why I cherish each day, because I too have seen sudden deaths and how it affects the families and friends of the deceased. It really brings it close to home when someone dies who is my age (I'm 47).

    I can see where your friend, the medic, may look at it differently because she sees mostly trauma.
    Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.

  23. 01-18-2013, 04:56 PM

  24. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    I think anyone can decide what they would do because they are talking about themselves. For example, I am an optimist, so I know what I would do. I've also been through more than my share of life and death situations requiring me to make these types of decisions. And here I am.

    I do not expect people to agree with me and don't care if they do. A know thyself thing. Others would do what they would do and that's how that goes.

    As for the twins, this is a news story which made them public figures. People are free to give their opinion on their actions. And those opinions should be kept in proper context so members don't step into the murky territory of making statements about other members.
    .

  25. #24
    pwem Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by NewEnglander View Post
    I guess that is why I cherish each day, because I too have seen sudden deaths and how it affects the families and friends of the deceased. It really brings it close to home when someone dies who is my age (I'm 47).

    I can see where your friend, the medic, may look at it differently because she sees mostly trauma.

    What a good point. I never thought her view would be affected by the type of death she saw. Thanks NewEnglander.

  26. 01-18-2013, 05:37 PM

  27. #25
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Mammy, I recieved some pm's from upset members who felt they were being judged simply for posting their opinion. I will not say who felt they were being judged by who. So view it as an overall statement of moderation so this thread can move beyond that sort of thing. It is what I think. And it is that too.
    .

  28. #26
    RebelRocker Guest
    no offense to you but im glad im not a moderator, that would drive me nuts. people should be able to post their opinions without having to worry about offending people. but that does not mean people can be a-holes to other members.

  29. 01-18-2013, 07:00 PM

  30. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    springfield illinois
    Posts
    1,248
    being a mod elsewhere, it's a hard job. someone is always mad at you!
    "if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask someone else first" Kurt Cobain


    [SIGPIC] http://phineas4cobain.tumblr.com/post/36392280360 [/SIGPIC]

  31. #28
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Thanks guys, but let's return to the topic please.
    .

  32. #29
    Wendy A. Guest
    Ok, this is what I think, I think given their age and the fact that they were already deaf, they were concerned on communication and becoming a burden on their family.. maybe they even decided that their declining quality of life wasn't something that wanted to deal with, and came to the conclusion that "checking out" was better for them. I don't really know what I would do as I am not in this situation, but I can't say that I wouldn't blame them, it's a lot to have to deal with.. can't hear, can't see.. I probably wouldn't see the point of going on. But that is just my opinion.
    Last edited by Wendy A.; 01-18-2013 at 07:41 PM. Reason: spelling

  33. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    The Sticks
    Posts
    37,601
    I can't say what I would do either, but the fact is I'm deaf, therefore, I communicate via my eyes. If I lost my sight I'd be up shit creek. That said, there is such a thing as brail. If I knew I was going blind I'd learn it, you better believe it. Life is precious... That said, their decision was just that, theirs, and I wouldn't judge them for it.

    That's just me, you all are entitled to say whatever you want without being knawed about. Them's the rules.
    Last edited by cindyt; 01-18-2013 at 07:56 PM.
    GOD IS NOT DEAD





  34. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    30,241
    Apparently they had many other medical problems in addition to the glaucoma which was extremely painfull.
    http://deafcapital.blog.com/2013/01/...-and-the-myth/
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  35. #32
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Middle Earth
    Posts
    13,009
    Those poor guys. They did have a lot of medical issues.
    Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.

  36. #33
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    2,495
    As accomplished as Helen Keller became, she STILL needed a full-time companion and then a caretaker for the rest of her long life. Even without her family to help, her celebrity ensured she WOULD have loyal or at least decent care, in her own pleasant home.
    These sad middle-aged fellows in their obscurity, with aging parents and one brother who might have a family or a life where he is not constantly available, and about to lose their modest work, were not likely to adjust (some of the reports imply they were learning-disabled in some way) or learn new ways of communication (apparently they had their own form of sign language), nor would they have attracted willing attendants like Helen Keller.
    What's more, if they had lived the natural course of their lives, they were not conjoined--- one twin WOULD have predeceased the other, at any time, and THEN how would the surviving twin cope, with all his other problems in addition to blindness and deafness?
    It's terrible for the parents, no question, to lose two children at the same time, two sons who had come into the world together and were in their lives for 45 years. But unless they were people of means, they might not have been able to provide for the brothers if and when the parents themselves became incapacitated and inevitably died. Perhps the brothers did not want to be left to the tender merices of whatever their country's medical/social systems had to offer. They were said to have feared institutionalization.
    It's an ugly dilemma, but this was their choice, after the family was said to have done their fair share to dissuade them. It is also an ominous warning for the rest of an aging population without relatives able or willing to help, or funds for all their future serious needs.
    Last edited by Linnie; 01-18-2013 at 09:57 PM.

  37. #34
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    1,229
    Didn't they know that glaucoma can be treated?

  38. #35
    Wendy A. Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Apparently they had many other medical problems in addition to the glaucoma which was extremely painfull.
    http://deafcapital.blog.com/2013/01/...-and-the-myth/
    Nice find Ich! Imagine that... the press leaving out facts for better ratings, that is so pathetic on their part.

  39. #36
    tarsier Guest
    I am as a rule strongly opposed to Euthanasia but that would be other people making the decision "mercy killing" assisted suicide is a whole other thing. Death is and should be a personal decision these two put years into making it so I can definitely respect their choice.
    Last edited by tarsier; 01-20-2013 at 04:37 AM.

  40. #37
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    South Carolina coast
    Posts
    19
    I wish these twins had stuck around longer. Who knows, they might have been real good at pinball.....

  41. #38
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Petaluma Ca
    Posts
    4,672
    Quote Originally Posted by Starless View Post
    I wish these twins had stuck around longer. Who knows, they might have been real good at pinball.....

    LOL!!

  42. #39
    Nelliebean Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Starless View Post
    I wish these twins had stuck around longer. Who knows, they might have been real good at pinball.....
    hahahh!

  43. #40
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    3,846
    I just found the answer to my own question

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4021232AAmkusP
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "Do mind the pedestrian, Richard."
    - Hyacinth Bucket

  44. #41
    Rosebud666 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Linnie View Post
    As accomplished as Helen Keller became, she STILL needed a full-time companion and then a caretaker for the rest of her long life. Even without her family to help, her celebrity ensured she WOULD have loyal or at least decent care, in her own pleasant home.
    These sad middle-aged fellows in their obscurity, with aging parents and one brother who might have a family or a life where he is not constantly available, and about to lose their modest work, were not likely to adjust (some of the reports imply they were learning-disabled in some way) or learn new ways of communication (apparently they had their own form of sign language), nor would they have attracted willing attendants like Helen Keller.
    What's more, if they had lived the natural course of their lives, they were not conjoined--- one twin WOULD have predeceased the other, at any time, and THEN how would the surviving twin cope, with all his other problems in addition to blindness and deafness?
    It's terrible for the parents, no question, to lose two children at the same time, two sons who had come into the world together and were in their lives for 45 years. But unless they were people of means, they might not have been able to provide for the brothers if and when the parents themselves became incapacitated and inevitably died. Perhps the brothers did not want to be left to the tender merices of whatever their country's medical/social systems had to offer. They were said to have feared institutionalization.
    It's an ugly dilemma, but this was their choice, after the family was said to have done their fair share to dissuade them. It is also an ominous warning for the rest of an aging population without relatives able or willing to help, or funds for all their future serious needs.
    Very well thought out and well said.
    People can and do lose their sight or their hearing in the middle of life. I could imagine coping with one or the other, and am full of admiration for those who do. But both at the same time is a shuddering thought - that's rapidly approaching "Johnny Got His Gun" territory.

  45. #42
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    21,891
    Quote Originally Posted by MiraculousMandarin View Post
    I just found the answer to my own question

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4021232AAmkusP
    That common sense answer is what I would expect as one can't go anywhere without the other while conjoined.
    .

  46. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    I’m in ur house eatin ur cheetoz
    Posts
    1,248
    Quote Originally Posted by tarsier View Post
    I am as a rule strongly opposed to Euthanasia but that would be other people making the decision "mercy killing" assisted suicide is a whole other thing. Death is and should be a personal decision these two put years into making it so I can definitely respect their choice.
    Amen to that! How does one live with no visual or audio stimuli? No memories, or experiences, the next shoe to drop would be for them to somehow lose feeling in their hands?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •