It’s all over the news. Schiavo died today from starvation/dehydration 14 days following the disconnection of her feeding tube appartus. CNN.com reports:
“Without liquids, it could take Schiavo two to four weeks to die from dehydration.”
I don’t get this though. Upon entering the office today, we began arguing about how long the human body can live without food and water. Water is the critical part. The average person dies after 3 days of dehydration, so what’s with CNN.com’s quote? Food you can live without, though I wouldn’t think someone in Schiavo’s condition would tackle any records. 14 days seems like a long time for someone to starve to death, but it’s even longer for someone to become mortally dehydrated. You probably don’t believe me on this, so here’s some science facts for you to fill your brain (which I might add is mostly water):
We Can’t Live Without Water
RE: How long can a human live without water and food
*UPDATE* Whether or not a hydration tube was utilized after the feeding tube was removed is questionable. On Yahoo.com, I saw the first mention of this fact, which has elsewhere been omitted:
She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding and hydration tube to keep her alive.