[Magdalen] end of life documents (was Re: Rant)

[Jay Weigel]

I go back again and again to something that happened in one hospital where
I worked for about 3 years, a small regional place where I tended to know a
lot of the patients and the doctors outside of work.

We had a patient who was obviously nearing the end. Her heart was simply no
longer capable of sustaining her body, no matter how much tinkering the
doctors did. For a month she ping-ponged back and forth between the ICU and
the tele floor, with one brief sojourn at home, while the cardiologist did
his level best. The patient herself was a sweet, uncomplaining lady, but
you could tell she was just getting tired and worn out by it all, and you
could sense that she was just *done*. Nurses know that "distant" feeling.
Finally there was a discussion between the patient's husband and son (the
family were devout Catholics) and the doctor, who was Hindu, though I don't
know how devout or observant. The deciding phrase, which I have never
forgotten, was uttered by the son: "We know where she's going. Why are we
trying so hard to stop her?" There was silence, and then agreement. Comfort
measures were ordered, and the patient died, quietly and serenely, two days
later.

On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 12:41 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> It sometimes seems as if some folks have their own religion -- the church
> of uncompromising striving for immortality, no matter what.
>
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
> for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
> on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente
>
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 10:22 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com>
> wrote:
>
> > We had DNRs on the front door, the door to my Dad's bedroom and direct
> > over his head on the bed. We waited three hours before reporting his
> death,
> > and when the authorities came, the EMTs applied the paddles.
> >
> > I pointed out the DNR and was told it was "Against our religious
> beliefs."
> >
> > I was then threatened with arrest for not reporting it right away. My
> > reply was that we wanted the DNR order observed and the EMTs demonstrated
> > they would refuse to respect it.
> >
> > My (later) lawyer said she wished I had been her client then -- the would
> > have sued the pants off the EMTS and the Township.
> >
> > Good luck with the DNR
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Jim
> >
> > PS Brookynites you can pick up the DNR at 36th Street.
> >
>