This is an interesting article that a doctor friend of mine shared on a web site I spend entirely too much time on called Sermo. http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/
The article is written by a physician. He talks about those of us who know what all those end of life interventions mean. Things like CPR, or having a tube in your throat and being on a respirator…. We know the side effects. We know the risks and benefits. Some of us have spent our professional lives trying to help patients make the same decisions that we would now be facing. We administer those treatments.
I remember a conversation I had with MY mother. Her father was a physician. My grandpa sat her down one day and told her that HE didn’t want all those machines when it was his time to go. He knew what he would face if his relatives wanted to “do everything”. It was not for him. Mom felt the same way. She died at home with hospice.
I think the article is thought provoking. I’ve had this discussion with my family. Think about it. Have the discussion with your family. It’s awful when family starts arguing when a member is terminally ill.
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