This is a serious subject, that obviously hits home to all health care providers.
I absolutely think they should let the husband make this decision. In fact I think more people with incapacitated family members should be as strong as him and choose the same. People like her have no quality of life. And I might really tick some people off by saying this but, they are a huge burden on the health care system. In my opinion the family needs to quit being greedy about their own feelings for her, and start thinking about what Terri would want. It is a classic case of not letting go. This woman died a long time ago. She is merely existing and not living.
Honestly... maybe we need to have a poll here and see how many people would want to exist this way.
I think what really makes it hard for some is in this particular case this woman actually looks well cared for. What about all the people that we see in the extended care facilities? You know, the ones that lay in the same position all the time and have nothing but a tiles on the wall to stare at? The ones who have no family, no one to come and visit. No one to interact with but the staff. Every day of their life is exactly the same. And even if they can think for themselves, they have no way to express it.
This, if you want to call it lifestyle is the very same as the most cruel torture.
Nothing really brings the mood down in EMS like running a rescue on the same vegetated patient week after week. These people are suffering, always having complications varying from sepsis to pneumonia. Suffering from the pain of debriedment of that stage 5 decubitus ulcer. Not to mention the pain from the contracted arthritic joints.
I feel so strongly about this. I had my first cardiac arrest that i actually brought back a few weeks ago. This woman was a vent dependent, peg tube dependent AXOX1 p.t whom pulled her trachea out. Before the Nursing home staff realized that this had happened she was already arrested. No DNR papers so when we got there we had no choice but to work her. She was in asystole, but the down time was estimated to only be approx 8min. We did our usual CPR, ET, Epi, Atropine then some bi-carb and to our amazement we got a rhythm back with a pulse and somewhat of a blood pressure. So we transport her to the hospital. She lives. And returns to the Nursing home about a week later. For a few seconds after the call I was excited to have "saved" a life. I shortly realized after, we only prolonged her death.
