What does everyone think?

[LiLRedCV]

I support a persons right to choose in cases such as these. It can bankrupt an individual or family not only financially, but emotionally.

My younger sister's a C-6 quad (total-assist, paralyzed from the neck down) from an auto accident in 1994. As a family, we do what we can to keep her quality of life as best we can, but it's not cheap and it's not easy.

She capped her insurance within the first couple of years... The wheelchair that she NEEDS runs over $30k. Insurance paid for the first, but wouldn't pay for another when that one broke down and we couldn't get parts to fix it. We rigged it as best we could until if finally gave completely out. We bought her another (cheaper) chair out of our own pockets, but it's only compounded many of her problems.

Right now, she's on Medicaid and SSDI, but those have extreme limits too. Her max income is $600/mo with $75/mo in foodstamps.

She can't feed herself. She's prone to bed sores, reliable home health is difficult to get, she's only 43yrs old now so nursing homes aren't a great place for her to be (that's where she got her bed sores started anyway and no matter what's done, they won't heal now!) since most go there to die. She's prone to upper respiratory infections because she can't get a good cough going to excrete the phlegm when necessary. She's been in ICU for a total blood transfusion at least twice because the nursing home doctor and staff let her get so septic it wasn't even funny...

There's bowel programs 'cuz she doesn't have the muscle capabilities to move waste out of her system. She's straight-cathed because the regular cath kept getting clogged due to her "porcelain bladder". Even those will get clogged and lines have to be cleared.

Getting a doctor who's willing to take on such a patient is more difficult than you'd think due to all the medical issues they're prone to.

We've tried... even tho' we moved her out of the initial nursing home in which she started her infections in due to lack of doctor and staff care, we found the next facility had the same doctor! And the one after that... and the one after that... Same BS out of the man each and every time. When we moved her into a house, we tried to find another doctor only to be turned away due to her "high risk".

Back to the same doctor who neglected her at the nursing homes anyway 'cuz she needs her meds (13 different ones last count I heard) and can't get them without a doctor to sign off.

We can't afford to get her a van so we get her out of her chair with a lift, set her in the front seat of the vehicle and belt her in, load her chair in the back of a truck and take her where she needs to go... Sometimes we can get the local area transfer to come directly to the house to pick her up, but they're not reliable and as a result have made her missed many medical appointments. And sometime's we can rent a wheelchair accessible van if we absolutely need to (her sons HS graduation), but they're not cheap.

My oldest son bought the house she lives in so she wouldn't have to live in a nursing home or roach infested low-income housing unit, but outside of having a non-profit local organization build a ramp - nothing's really all that handicap accessible in it. (We looked at almost 100 houses to buy before finding one that didn't need massive renovations just to get her in through the front door and one of the bedrooms!) She gets sponge baths and we've rigged a basin to wash her hair. There are grants for such things, but there's a HUGE waiting list and we've already been on it for 4yrs now. Our older sister is living with her as her live-in home health care person and being paid 20hrs week (even tho' she puts in almost 24hr days!) to take care of her 'cuz we couldn't get anyone else reliable enough to do the job. [the last live-in person stole everything under the sun from her - including what little money she'd managed to save for Christmas presents for her boys!!!]

She has a computer and internet access (we pay for those too) and manages with some limited upper arm movement and a laptop-type mouse, but we haven't found a speech program for her that'll work (she doesn't speak clearly enough) and all the eye-movement programs were too spendy for us to buy.

So, yes, while there are some amazing things available to better her life or programs that could possibly fund just the basics - they're not so easy to get or afford. Many of the programs just don't have the funds to help. The community loses interest after awhile. My sister lost most of her friends after her accident - most couldn't handle it. It all sounds great on paper or the computer screen, it's not as rosy as it all sounds.

We dearly love our sister and will continue to do what we can for her as long as SHE wants to continue the fight, but if SHE decides she wants it to end? You can bet we'd fight for her right to die with dignity her way.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Unfortunately it changes the doctor patient relationship. Do you really want to have 23% of your doctors euthanising people against their will and without their knowledge? Because that is what is happening in Holland. Also elderly people scared if they have to go to hospital and are even carrying cards specifically saying they don't want euthanasia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...derly-people-carry-anti-euthanasia-cards.html
Elderly people in the Netherlands are so fearful of being killed by doctors that they carry cards saying they do not want euthanasia, according to a campaigner who says allowing assistant suicide in Britain would put the vulnerable at risk.
This is what happened to a disabled woman in the UK called Jane Susan Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton who suffers from Spinal muscular atrophy
He cited the experience of Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, the disabled founder of Not Dead Yet, who was once told by doctors that they “presumed” she wouldn’t want resuscitation if she experienced complications during treatment.

“Very scared, she stayed awake in hospital for more than 48 hours.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said: “The doctors’ judgment, based on the idea of a “life not worth living,” is a moral judgment not of facts (medical or otherwise). “A law permitting euthanasia would reinforce this position, further clearing the ground to take away lives based on a moral judgment rather than medical fact. The threat will extend to the lives of older, disabled people too.”

He mentioned the comments of Lord McColl made in the House of Lords that in the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been officially legalised and regulated since 2002, doctors found the cases increasingly easy to carry out while “many elderly people in the Netherlands are so fearful of euthanasia that they carry cards around with them saying that they do not want it”.

This was a reference to the Dutch Patients’ Association (NPV), which has 70,000 members of whom at least 6,000 have “living will declarations” stating that they do not want euthanasia if they are taken into hospital or a nursing home

 

[kyeschicks]

Quote:
I Agree

 

[PaulaSB12]

The trouble is when given the right to help someone die with a patients consent encourages doctors to do it without. As has been shown in Holland 23% of dutch doctors have admitted euthanising without patient consent.

 

[magicpigeon]

Quote:
You said it!

 

[Mattemma]

When I worked as a nurse aide I took care of a lot of people that were paralyized from the neck down.I recall a young man in his 20's like that who was not even able to talk. I would not want to live like that having strangers tend to me.Perhaps if I as at home with a loved one OK,but even then loved ones sometimes get stressed/mean in these situations. I would not want to do that to them.

I know I would want to keep my kid alive,but again I have to think of what they want. Laws the way they are you would never want to talk about this with many.If it is something you want you should find someone you trust and work things out before it happens.Reminds me of the Will Smith movie SEVEN POUNDS. Not exactly the same,but he did have his friend take care of things for him.

Besids power of attorney,wills,and funeral arrangements talk about what you want done if you stroke out or anything. A loved one can take care of this without the involvement of a doctor.Doctors like anyone can take things to the extreme and abuse their position.Sometimes spouses do the same to a loved one.We all hopefully have atleast one person we care REALLY trust.

 

[Royd]

Would rolling grandma off a cliff, in her whellchair, be considered assisted suicide?

 

[caspernc]

Quote:
I agree and the articals are very true. It is very touchy, be you have to be real. Has anyone seen the movie, "All Most Heaven" Yes it is a chick flick and has Reese Whitherspoon in it but it does have a point. You never know what may happen and I do beleive in a living will. I even have it writen down what to do with my body that REALLY bothers my DH. But it is what I want. There are so many things that come into play to do what you want. The oath medical personel take says, "They will do NO harm. Life is all there is." If you think about this too much you could drive yourself into the grave.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I do have incurable cancer , and say alot for all the money and years that have been put into cancer research....some cancers now are cured, and even those that are not the treatments, are alot easier and extend life longer.

I do have a living will, and could never put anyone thru pulling the plug...like wise i don't want my love ones to see me laying there as a vegetable, reason for the living will.

One thing to keepin mind, i think its a lot harder on the love ones , than the person dying that docs. keep drugs up, so u don't feel the pain.

 

[deerman]

I think we have the right to not be put on life support.........LIVING WILL everyone. Don't think we have the right to help anyone to end their life.