Authorities say a northeastern Indiana man paralyzed in a weekend fall from a deer stand has died after being removed from life support at his own request.

Thirty-two-year-old Timothy E. Bowers of Decatur died Sunday evening at a Fort Wayne hospital where he was taken after suffering Saturday's paralyzing injury.

The state Department of Natural Resources says in a release that Bowers was deer hunting Saturday afternoon when he fell 16 feet from a tree where he had been scouting for deer in an elevated stand.

The Journal Gazette reports Bowers suffered a neck injury and paralysis in that fall and was taken to a Lutheran Hospital in serious condition.

The release says Bowers asked Sunday to be removed from life support and died about 7 p.m.

Man so sad. So preventable..

+1

I did not know Tim personally. Though several of my friends did. What I know is that he was a hard working man who was just recently married and had his first child on the way. From the rumors I have been told, he was hunting in a ladder stand. I was also told that he laid on the ground unable to move for several hours until family came to find him. Most people feel that ladder stands are the safest stand you can hunt from. But, in this case it proves that NO tree stand is safe and you MUST wear a harness. Please wear your harnesses guys. This is a tragedy that could have been avoided.

When is this tragic stuff going to stop? This is beyond sad and I pray for his family. However a $30 lifeline and a $75 harness would have prevented this from happening.

Please folks ... be safe.

A heart wrenching story!

Prayers sent! Difficult to read!

Our prayers are with the family and friends. I can't imagine.

Our prayers are with the family and friends. I can't imagine.

Prayers to the family. That was a tough read for sure.

Agree brothers. There was a great story in the star this morning too about this. Very very sad and praying for the lord's comfort to the family that only he can provide.

I've always used one when a dear friend fell too and became a quadrapalegic about 9 years ago and finally died about three years ago as a result of the accident.

So, after reading about all the accidents that already occurred this year, I bought a brand new HSS harness vest. It was a bit expensive, $160, but lord willing, I will never make my family go through something like this.

Enjoy the season boys, be safe.

Here is the indy star article.

Be safe guys.

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Tim Bowers got to decide for himself whether he wanted to live or die.

When the avid outdoorsman was badly hurt Saturday in a hunting accident, doctors said he would be paralyzed and could be on a ventilator for life. His family had a unique request: Could he be brought out of sedation to hear his prognosis and decide what he wanted to do?

Doctors said yes, and Bowers chose to take no extra measures to stay alive. He died Sunday, hours after his breathing tube was removed.

“We just asked him, ‘Do you want this?’ And he shook his head emphatically no,” his sister, Jenny Shultz, said of her brother, who was often found hunting, camping or helping his father on his northeastern Indiana farm.

The 32-year-old was deer hunting when he fell 16 feet from a tree and suffered a severe spinal injury that paralyzed him from the shoulders down. Doctors thought he might never breathe on his own again.

Courts have long upheld the rights of patients to refuse life support. But Bowers’ case was unusual because it’s often family members or surrogates, not the patient, who make end-of-life decisions.

Medical ethicists say it’s rare for someone to decide on the spot to be removed from life support, especially so soon after an injury. But standard medical practice is to grant more autonomy to patients.

The heart-wrenching call to remove life support is more often left to relatives. Even when a patient has outlined his wishes for end-of-life care, the decision can tear families apart.

Shultz, an intensive care nurse in Las Vegas, has seen it happen in her job. But her medical training also meant she understood the severity of her brother’s injuries. His C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae were crushed.

Though his brain was not injured, his body was irreparably broken. Surgery could fuse the vertebrae, but that would only allow Bowers to sit up. He would never walk or hold his baby. He might live the rest of his life in a rehabilitation hospital, relying on a machine to help him breathe.

Shultz said her brother — the youngest of four siblings — wanted to talk but couldn’t because the ventilator tube was still in place. If the tube were removed, she told him, doctors were not sure how long he would live. But when she asked if he wanted the tube reinserted if he struggled, Bowers shook his head no.

Doctors asked Bowers the same questions and got the same responses. Then they removed the tube.

The last five hours of Bowers’ life were spent with family and friends, about 75 of whom gathered in the hospital waiting room. They prayed and sang songs.

Through it all, Shultz said, her brother never wavered in his decision to die.

“I just remember him saying so many times that he loved us all and that he lived a great life,” she said. “At one point, he was saying, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready.’”

Patients often change their minds after they have had time to meet with spiritual advisers and family, said Art Caplan, director of the medical ethics program at New York University’s Langone Medical Center in New York City.

Dr. Paul Helft, director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics in Indianapolis, said cases in which the patient makes the decision usually involve a debilitating illness such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which compromises the body but leaves the mind intact.

“We give patients autonomy to make all kinds of decisions about themselves,” he said. “We’ve recognized that it’s important that patients have the right to self-determination.”

Shultz said her family had an idea what her brother would want because he had previously talked with his wife, Abbey, whom he married Aug. 3, about never wanting to spend his life in a wheelchair.

She knows that not everyone would make the same decision. But she’s thankful her brother was able to choose for himself.

“No outcome was ever going to be the one that we really want,” she said. “But I felt that he did it on his terms in the end.”

Does anyone know where the memorial fund is for this family? I feel we as hunters should step up to support this family.

Now that this is nationally publicized. Does anyone question the ethics of the doctors on such a quick call and that he really knew what was being asked. Just married unborn child? Makes me wonder. Please don't mistake me, but personally I think they should have gave him another month or so. Just seem odd? I have a lot more on mind but don't want to cause to much controversy. I've broken my my back but fortunate not to do spinal cord injury to an extent. I just pray the young man understood fully what they were asking him. Mentally put yourself in that scenario. I hope he is looking over all of us and god bless him!

Nope.... Even his sister who is an intensive care nurse knew what was in store for her brother and could easily collaborated what the doctors were telling the family... If put in the same situation I would have told them to pull the plug... I have made it clear that I never want to spend the rest of my days in a wheelchair or be any type of burden on anyone... The day I can't take care of myself, it is time to go....

Same here. I would have made the same decision in that situation too.

Understandable and agree. Thanks for some clarification news always makes it worse than it is. Didn't know about sis being nurse. Still gets me. To young and to much.

As Salt mentioned, I did not know Tim personally but did know several of his in- laws very well. Unfortunately from what I know at this point he did have a harness on but obviously not tethered in at the time that the fall happened. This is and example of someone actually wearing a harness but made one life ending mistake. Search: Haggard, Sefton & Hirschy funeral home, Decatur, In and I'm sure you make memorial arrangements. If not, please PM me and I will make sure and get the right address for the memorials. If we have numerous I will be more than willing to organize a collection to deliver to the family. I promise that I will be a trustworthy source. Memorials are requested to Tim's baby. This breaks my heart as much as everyone else. I have given away more safety harnesses then I can count yet it obviously take more than just wearing the safety harness. I will post more information about how it happened as I get the information. Be Safe Everyone.

Sorry I thought services were yesterday

Skeet,

You're right the services have taken place, but I sure the fellows at Haggard, Sefton & Hirschy would be willing to help out. If not, as I said I would be more than willing to make arrangements through Tim's wife's sister. We are good friends and I have no doubt that she would do whatever is necessary to get the money to any necessary accounts.

Tim Bowers Memorial.

Here is an updated picture of the tree where Tim had his tragic accident.