Good Thing She Wasn't Schiavo's Second Wife

From the "Not So Vegetative As We Were Led To Believe" file:

A severely brain-damaged Kansas woman who couldn't talk or feed herself after a car accident two years ago has inexplicably regained those abilities, confounding the predictions of doctors.

Tracy Gaskill, 30, began speaking and swallowing about three weeks ago, family members and medical personnel told the Associated Press. Gaskill had suffered head trauma and internal injuries after her car rolled over on a highway in September 2002.

"I have never seen this happen in my career," her physician David Schmeidler told the AP. "I've read about it happening, the severely brain damaged recovering suddenly, but never seen it until now."

As with Schiavo, Gaskill's relatives claimed the disabled woman was responsive to them.

"In the last year and a half, she's indicated that she knows us; she has been watching TV and smiling," said her grandfather, Don Gaskill. "More recently, she started nodding her head when we asked her questions. Then a few months ago, she'd laugh out loud."

Just before Schiavo's feeding tube was disconnected in March by court order, another woman, Sarah Scantlin, 38, unexpectedly began recovering from a severe brain injury that left her speechless and unable to feed herself for 20 years.

Scantlin is now able to eat on her own and answer questions from physical therapists.

The difference between Ms. Gaskill and Ms. Scantlin on the one hand and Terri Schiavo on the other? The former pair didn't have "next of kin" who wanted them dead and were diabolical enough to find a judge to use their disabilities against them.

They're two of the blessed ones in the new Death Lottery. I wonder how many of their accursed counterparts we'll even learn enough about to mourn, along with the culture of life that is inexorably dying with them.