Interesting Nurse's Perspective

[cfaulknor]

Good Morning, All

While I only bounce on and off these boards occasionally on my free time, I have something that might be of interest to you all.

I run an online newspaper covering the State of Michigan, all with citizen contributed news and columns. I had a random nurse from the Detroit Area begin writing a column. I had never met this person, but as a Paramedic, I was quickly impressed by their thoughts on the most everyday situations.

So impressed, in fact, that I figured I would share it with you. The entry I'm posting the link to is entitled "Live and Let Die (or I'll haunt you" and it deals with the reality of end-of-life decisions, something we can all appreciate. Feel free to ignore, but this was too good not to share with the EMS community.

Live and Let Die

EDIT: I may have accidentally placed this in the wrong category. If so, feel free to move as needed. My apologies

Edited August 5, 2009 by cfaulknor

[fireflymedic]

Very good points to ponder. A recent event with a friend of mine dealing with her mother's death made me confirm my decision even more strongly that in the event I or someone I dearly loved was in a situation where it was blatantly obvious they would not recover, I would not prolong their suffering. I honestly believe it all begins with the decision to intubate or not. It seems that is the point at which the line becomes blurred to the point neither family nor doctors know where to stop as the patient is "still breathing and heart is still beating". For those new in EMS, a code is not a pretty thing. There is no dignity in it, it is ugly, completely disgraceful to the patient, and takes a toll on the provider, patient, and family. If it is an old person that it is obvious their time has come, let them go, don't disgrace them. It's sad in all of medical advances that we have not progressed to the point of letting these people die with dignity. I only hope one day we can.

[Dustdevil]

Thanks for posting a stimulating article!

It is a question that both the profession and the general public spend far too little time pondering. Unfortunately, no matter how much we ponder it, when the moment comes, all the rules go out the window, and emotion (for the public) and defence (for us) takes over, because neither of us wants that death on our hands, morally or legally. This results in a lot of bad calls that should have been based on logic, and not emotion. But that is human nature.

As with every other problem we face, education is the answer. However, it will never completely solve the problem. Again, that is human nature.

[HERBIE1]

Obviously our first job is to follow the law and our own protocols, then follow any advanced directives the patient may have. As was pointed out in the article- and we all know- it's not always that simple. Even with a terminally ill hospice patient, family members panic when the time comes and change their minds. Fair to the soon to be deceased- nope- but that is also not the best time to debate someone's final wishes with the family.

I really wish that we could promote the idea of dying with dignity here. When the time comes and hope is essentially nil, I have instructed my family to let me go- or I'll come back to haunt them. (Only half kidding) I think I've told enough horror stories of people in vegetative states, what they go through, and who can linger for years in a nursing home. That is NOT going to be me. It's not fair to me- or my family. I don't want them to remember me that way or be a burden to them.