Unless a miracle occurs, Terri Schiavo will die within the next few days. She is in the process of starving to death, but what is most likely to kill her is lack of water; she'll die of thirst long before she'll die of starvation. What is that like? Wittingshire provides a description:

Saliva becomes thick and foul-tasting; the tongue clings irritatingly to the teeth and the roof of the mouth .... A lump seems to form in the throat ... severe pain is felt in the head and neck. The face feels full due to the shrinking of the skin. Hearing is affected, and many people begin to hallucinate... [then come] the agonies of a mouth that has ceased to generate saliva. The tongue hardens into what McGee describes as "a senseless weight, swinging on the still-soft root and striking foreignly against the teeth." Speech becomes impossible, although sufferers have been known to moan and bellow.

Next is the "blood sweats" phase, involving "a progressive mummification of the initially living body." The tongue swells to such proportions that it squeezes past the jaws. The eyelids crack and the eyeballs begin to weep tears of blood. The throat is so swollen that breathing becomes difficult, creating an incongruous yet terrifying sense of drowning.

There's more, if you can stomach it. Wonder if the MSM will demand access so they can film Terri's last hours; the pleasant, painless death they assure us she is going through.