As a legal minor at 17 you really were not in a position to do anything for your mother. It was her choice to sign the card or not.
The experience that changed my life
by hijosdelawatch 38 Replies latest jw experiences
-
-
ABibleStudent
Welcome hijosdelawatch, You made the right decision to go to the doctor(s) instead of signing your mother's blood card as the elders told you to do.
Are your parents still JWs? If your parents are still JWs and you do not want to be a JW, then I would recommend that you read Steve Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest book) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visit his website www.freedomofmind.com, and view videos on his website to help you communicate better with your parents and to help you to peel away the WTBTS's BITE control phobias.
I wish you and your parents the best to critically think for yourselves.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
-
OnTheWayOut
The CoBOE asked way too much of you. Great that you can now say what happened. Great that you did not have to live with a decision that worked out differently. Thanks for sharing.
-
rebel8
One of the problems with the way the blood rule is operationalized is putting children in situations that only adults should be in, I agree. Kids should not be having to make decisions like that, talking to healthcare providers about adult decisions, being pressured to deceive adults, etc.
This in fact is one of the problems all their rules are operationalized. Kids are not tiny adults, but they're expected to be.
-
whathappened
I am so glad you did the right thing. Those elders are would be murderers.
-
UnConfused
Hijo - thank god you did what you did. Can you imagine the guilt if you forged her signature and she died?! You've a pure heart young man.
-
exwhyzee
Hijosdealwatch:
I'm so glad your Mom made it. My Dad wasn't a baptized JW but signed the no blood paperwork before going into surgery based upon what he was taught in his free home bible study. A few day's after his operation, he began declining and it was discovered that he was bleeding out. By the time they realized this, his blood count was too low to go back into surgery to fix the problem without having a transfusion. At this point he was in and out of consciousness and couldn't undo his directive. My younger sister was sitting at the end of his bed , waiting for us to arrive and keeping watch hoping his blood count would improve. Suddenly he bolted upright. With tubes and monitors intact, he scrambled toward her and grabbed on to her pleading for help then immediately died as she tried to hold him up and screamed for help. She has never been the same after this. We walked into the room moments after it happened and were shoved out of the door along with my hysterical sister, trying to figure out what had just happened and doing what we could to keepi her from passing out. I looked over my shoulder and saw what they were doing to try to revive him and it wasn't pretty.
About 2 years after all this happened, the good folks at the Watchtower decided that taking blood fractions would be ok. This may have been enough to save him had they made this ruling in time. Had he known this change was in store, he'd have realized that these men don't really know what they are talking about and would never have signed the no blood directive. If I could only do it over again, knowing what I know now, I'd have given him my blood straight out of my arm if I could....let Jehovah kill me for trying to save my Father.
You did the right thing, if your Mom would have died, those elders would carry on with their lives and your mom would be just a distant memory to them while you lived with the agony of knowing you made a call that wasn't yours to make. Not only because of your age and because it was you Mom's responsibility to sign her blood card, but it would have been forgery for you to have signed it.
After my Dad died, the brothers said "Even though your Father wasn't a baptized Witness, he died faithful to Jehovah so he'll surely be resurrected into the new system" We asked them if we could hold our Father's memorial at the Kingdom Hall but they said no because he wasn't baptized. I was furious. Apparently Jehovah would let him into the new system for dying "faithful" but he wasn't legit enough for us to have a memorial at the Kingdom Hall.
This was a close call for you and I'm so glad things turned out well. Thanks for sharing this with us.
What did your Mom say about the whole forgery thing when she found out?
-
Sammy Jenkis
Hijos you saved her, imagine not having done so and fading later after you found out the truth?
Now that would've been harder to live with.
-
Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Wow. Thanks for sharing.
-
AudeSapere
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Glad to have you as part of the group.
-Aude.