My thoughts on the suicide of Kate Middleton’s nurse

Photo credit: Zap2it

In a tragic and shocking turn of events, a nurse who transferred a prank call from two Australian DJs about Kate Middleton killed herself, according to the Daily Mail.

The body of Jacintha Saldanha, a mother of two, was discovered today near King Edward VII hospital, where Kate had been treated for her severe morning sickness. Jacintha was on switchboard duty early Wednesday morning when Australian DJ Mel Greig, impersonating Queen Elizabeth II, called the hospital asking to speak to Kate. According to a hospital statement, Jacintha had not been reprimanded for her unintentional mistake, but instead had been receiving support from the hospital.

Through an official statement, Kate and William expressed their deep sadness at the news. Chief Executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr. Peter Carter, said “it is deeply saddening that a simple human error due to a cruel hoax could lead to the death of a dedicated and caring member of the nursing profession.”

I have several thoughts, which I would kindly like to share with you:
1. Suicide is never the answer. No matter the situation in which one finds themselves, suicide is a permanent answer to a temporary problem.  No patient, no matter how important they were, was worth taking her own life over. A life has been prematurely cut down, and the manner of her death makes her family’s grieving process that much more intense.

Anyone who is suicidal can receive immediate help by logging onto Suicide.org or by calling 1-800-SUICIDE (in the United States). Suicide is preventable, and if you are feeling suicidal, you must get help. So please visit Suicide.org or call 1-800-SUICIDE immediately.

2. I wonder what else was going on in Jacintha’s life that caused her to make that drastic decision. Was she depressed, for example? Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide.

3. Everybody’s actions have consequences, both intentional and unintentional. When Mel Greig and Michael Christian picked up the phone in Sydney to place their prank, they could not have imagined the dire consequences their actions would have.

4. Although the hospital officially supported Jacintha, was she experiencing intense backlash and fallout behind the scenes?

5. The media's obsession with and aggressiveness towards Kate and William has really gone into overdrive since her pregnancy was announced, all in an effort to increase ratings, boost newspaper circulations, and website clicks. To quote royal blogger Marilyn Braun:

"In the months to come we will get medical reports, we will hear about Kate's stylish maternity fashions, the effect of the pregnancy on her physical appearance will be used to predict the sex. Is she carrying high or low? Will she have a home birth? Cesarean? Natural childbirth? Will William be present at the birth or will duty call him away? Will she breastfeed? (Cue the disapproving experts if she doesn't) How will she decorate the nursery? Will she suffer from postnatal depression? Not to mention the speculation about royal baby's future name and title. Mark my words, every angle of this pregnancy will be wrung for all it is worth." 

May Jacintha's soul rest in peace.

What do you think? Please leave a response in the comment section below.

Credit: Daily Mail

Kate Middleton's morning sickness: A Daily Mail cartoon

'Surprise, surprise, Kate, darling. A welcome home breakfast - champagne, porridge, bacon and eggs, kippers...'

Source: Daily Mail (December 7, 2012)

H.R.H. Diana, Princess of Wales: A voice from eternity

Photo credit: Mario Testino

Last week I stumbled across Sara Mitchell's book Voices From Eternity, in which five deceased celebrities talk candidly about life after death. One of those channeled was H.R.H. Diana, Princess of Wales, who spoke about her life and death, her love for her children, offered some advice to humanity, and revealed what she's been up to on the Other Side. Providing an unorthodox and intriguing insight into a life that has been studied and analyzed in minute detail, the book offered the following tidbits:

The Accident

• Diana and Dodi WERE engaged. They were planning a good and happy life together.
• The car they were riding in was being driven at high speed by an intoxicated Henri Paul, trying to escape the paparazzi, when it lost control after hitting another car. It was an accident; neither Prince Charles nor the Queen had any hand in it.
• During that last ride, Diana was scared and terrified, and had asked Dodi to tell Henri to be careful.
• She knew she was going to die before the crash happened; she saw her life flash before her eyes.
• Her death was drawn-out and tortuous: "I knew I couldn't come back to life, and I couldn't die completely.....It was so miserable. I was so unhappy." (p. 16).
• After she died, Diana was in a confused, lonely state. She remained connected to the Earth; she roamed around the crash site (and Paris in general), watched her sons at Balmoral Castle, Fergie, and saw her brother and his family. Spirit guides eventually helped Princess Diana transition over to the Other Side.
• At Balmoral, Prince Charles tried his best to comfort his sons. Although, according to Diana, he no longer loved and cared for her, he didn't want Princes William and Harry to lose their mother. On the other hand, the Queen "is really quite ruthless and cold and was pleased that I was gone and out of the way" (pp. 21-22).
• Prince William was very close to Diana, and instinctively knew that his mother had died. Although he was shaken and felt shattered, he felt a responsibility to take care of Harry, and to be brave and to carry on.

Life on the Other Side

• Diana is "studying, contemplating, thinking, living and serious a lot of the time in my contemplation of things I need to study and learn" (p. 28).

Advice to Mankind

• God is always with us and loves us very much, and provides comfort and advice, if only we would be quiet and listen to Him. In His Eyes, we are all royalty.
• Love "is the glue that holds everything together".

Diana's Message to William and Harry

• Diana is very much alive.
• She loves William and Harry so very much, and they will all be reunited one day.
• Although her time with her sons was short, Diana was able to teach them how to do their jobs.
• The boys must love each other and use their royal statuses to make the world a better place.
• She is always with them in their hearts and memories. She visits them and talks to them in their dreams. When they miss her, they must pray, and Diana will hear their prayers.
• William and Harry must place their trust in God.

Wherever she is, I hope that Diana is with Jesus, who "sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24), the Perfect Man who will never abandon, betray, or disappoint her.