cover image Saying Goodbye to Daniel

Saying Goodbye to Daniel

Juleit Cassuto Rothman, Juliet C. Rothman. Continuum, $18.95 (180pp) ISBN 978-0-8264-0857-0

At the age of 21, having just finished his junior year at Rochester University as a pre-med student, Daniel Rothman suffered a spinal cord injury in a diving accident. Treated in Rochester and then moved to Craig Hospital in Denver, considered the nation's best for rehabilitating quadriplegics, Daniel saw his condition steadily deteriorate. His mother, Juliet, who had written her Ph.D. dissertation on life-support decision-making, and his physician father eventually received the prognosis that he would never breathe, speak, eat or drink unassisted again. Moreover, he suffered from continual blood clots, unexplained fevers, wounds that wouldn't heal and headaches. Because he was of age, Daniel had to make the life-or-death decision himself, and he determined to die. This harrowing account grapples with tough moral choices and provides a list of resources for those facing them. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)