Susil

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News From Mississippi

Health & Fitness > Bad Medical Decisions
 

Bad Medical Decisions

I heard a report on NPR about conjoined twins, I believe in New York state, who have been hospitalized since birth. The twins have no hope to survive--they share a heart and other vital organs that can't be separated. The mother refuses to give the hospital a Do Not Resuscitate(DNR)order. So instead of keeping the babies comfortable to the end of their short lives, every time a problem arises, which is often, the hospital is obligated to go all out with tests and drugs--the whole megilla. The nurses are suffering stress from observing all the un-necessary pain the babies are being subjected to.

I don't know if the mother is just ignorant or bull headed or what her problem is, but this makes my blood boil. First, not only for what she is imposing on those helpless babies, but the expense being incurred keeping them alive. Do you have any idea how much that hospital bill will be? A million dollars? Probably more. And who's gonna pay for it?
YOU ARE. All taxpayers are. I bet that mother is on Medicaid and has no medical coverage to pay for it all. Surely this hospital has a board of ethics to weigh all options, with the mother's opinion included, to come to the best decision about the babies. I think the hospital is so afraid of being sued they won't stand up and do the right thing.

No wonder the medical delivery system in the United States is so *ucked up. Millions of dollars funneled into a drain of useless care, un-needed testing, and a "keep the patient alive at all costs" mentality, not just in this case, but all across the spectrum of medical care. Ask any nurse and they'll tell you what I say is true; we've seen it over and over.

susil

posted on June 19, 2010 4:49 AM ()

Comments:

In the early 70s, a friend of mine was resuscitated very late after he was hit by a car. He never regained consciousness. He was on life support at St. Vincent's in New York for 6 months. He wasted away and died. I think they stopped inserting food into his tubes. A "benign" method of skirting the decision making process that, in this case wouldn't have had any resistance from the family because they were not "life at any cost" fanatics. I think benign euthanasia takes place all the time. Best bet for anyone is to keep your case out of the news.
comment by tealstar on June 19, 2010 7:19 AM ()
Hi teal; I worked for years on the respiratory floor of a hospital where patients were on ventilators. I never once saw a long term ventilator patient recover and be taken off life support. It's a long lingering horrible way to die, esp. for patients with terminal lung disease to be put on a vent. Tube stuck in the airway, feeding tubes, catheter for urine drainage, throat suctioned often, or the patient would strangle; hands tied to keep patient from pulling out tubes. These are patients who should have been kept comfortable and allowed to die with dignity.
I'll tell you the truth--these type of patients are money makers for hospitals. That's just a fact, which makes it more awful.
reply by susil on June 20, 2010 7:40 AM ()
Oh!good post there.I supposed it is a very hard decision to make.
Yes we will pay for this.They need to straight this out some how.
Can they saved one of them?
comment by fredo on June 19, 2010 5:54 AM ()
fredo, they can't be saved, as they share a heart and circulatory system that can't be separated. Someone with balls is gonna have to make a decision and do the right thing regarding this situation. Bet it won't happen tho.
reply by susil on June 20, 2010 7:45 AM ()

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