Would you want them to pull the plug on you?

[Stumptown]

Here's more on the new fMRI techniques that can help determine if there's any significant brain activity in vegetative patients. Probably not going to help doctors figure out a way to bring them out of it or communicate in any real way (beyond "yes/no"), but helpful for families faced with the decision to pull the plug or not.

[Sainters7]

Pull the plug on me if I'm a drooling vegetable. But that's just common sense.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Pull the plug on me if I'm a drooling vegetable. But that's just common sense.

That's why the murder rate in the states goes up incrementally after thanksgiving dinner.

Look at Uncle Bob there drooling on the couch, I must do him a solid and kill him.

[Sainters7]

Haha yep, solid strategy for getting rid of disliked relatives. And I was just going for a cheap Naked Gun reference.

1:30 mark


Leslie's got the right idea. Getting caught in the gears of a combine after a parachute accident, that's how I wanna go.

[3 Justin 3]

Yes, the song summarizes why.

[LGA]

If I'm braindead and require machines to keep my alive, I hope my family has the decency to let my body die since I, as the person they know, already died.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

Well that is a dilemma perhaps we should reference the bible to see what it says we should do

Why would you say that?

[Bindair Dundat]

Having actually lived through such a situation (I awoke from an induced coma (seven hours later), after an "incident" that saw me 23 minutes without oxygen), I'm not going to comment further as to "####s and giggles" brigade that have been the bulk of contributors to this thread.

Sad, people. VERY sad. We're all "young and bulletproof", until things go sideways.

Yes; if I'm FUBAR, pull the plug.

They were ready to do just this right before I woke up...they were only waiting for my parents to arrive and "sign off" on the "formalities".

My (once formidible) memory is shot, but otherwise? I function just fine.

The doctors have no answer as to why this happened.

But it did. And I was DEAD without the supporting machines.

They even sent me to the "waiting for you to die" (ICU) at the "Grey Nuns" here in Edmonton.

That's enough said.

[Cowperson]

My father had a living will, indicating it was his wish to have life support removed if he was ever rendered into a vegetative state.

That occurred. I ordered his life support removed, except morphine for the pain.

It took about a week and a half for his body to die.

Everyone should have a living will so you remove that decision from the hands of the living. That means your wishes, one way or the other, are known and respected.

Cowperson

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

My father had a living will, indicating it was his wish to have life support removed if he was ever rendered into a vegetative state.

That occurred. I ordered his life support removed, except morphine for the pain.

It took about a week and a half for his body to die.

Everyone should have a living will so you remove that decision from the hands of the living. That means your wishes, one way or the other, are known and respected.

Cowperson

My doctor suggested that I should make a living will. I haven't done it because how I feel about it now could be very different than how I feel about it at the time. I'll leave it up to my kin and the doctors.

I've been in the position of having to give my input into the decision of another life and I think about it the odd time but I believe the decision to remove the life support at that time was the right one and I can live with it.

[Bindair Dundat]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

My father had a living will, indicating it was his wish to have life support removed if he was ever rendered into a vegetative state.

That occurred. I ordered his life support removed, except morphine for the pain.

It took about a week and a half for his body to die.

Everyone should have a living will so you remove that decision from the hands of the living. That means your wishes, one way or the other, are known and respected.

Cowperson

And I also have one...now.

Live and learn.

[Charcot]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

My doctor suggested that I should make a living will. I haven't done it because how I feel about it now could be very different than how I feel about it at the time. I'll leave it up to my kin and the doctors.

I've been in the position of having to give my input into the decision of another life and I think about it the odd time but I believe the decision to remove the life support at that time was the right one and I can live with it.

A living will only matters if you are unable to communicate your wishes. If you have a living will that says one thing and you now feel differently you can let the doctors know.

Without a leaving will it is the family that lets the physicians know what you would want. Some times they don't know and then feel like they are in a position of making a decision about whether their husband, mother etc should live or die. Sometimes different family members have different views of what you would like. I think this can be a terrible burden on a family at what is already a very difficult time.

We do know that family members often suggest much more an longer life support than you would want. Even though they would not wish for that sort of care for them self.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8505455

For this reason I think that it is even more important to have a talk with those people who might be in that position about what you would want. So they can support your wishes. Documenting your wishes ensures your wishes will be complied with and removes that difficult decision from your family.

Alberta Health Services has some good resources that can help these discussions.

A general description of advanced care planning
http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/...ce&rid=1023351

Some tools to help with advanced care planing
http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/3917.asp

Although I've quoted Vulcan on this post I want to be clear that "you" in this post is generic and does not refer specifically to him.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Bindair Dundat

Yes; if I'm FUBAR, pull the plug.

Honestly not poking fun, put I couldn't let "Fubar" and your username go unacknowledged.

Seriously though, I'm glad that you were able to overcome being in such a serious state. I can't imagine a loved one being in that situation, or myself obviously.

Although the humour may seem insensitive, it is important to remember that some people (myself included) use humour as a way to deal with difficult situations and questions. My mum, for example, for as long as I remember has stated "that if I'm ever laying there with drool running down my face and don't know who's coming and going, put a pillow over my face and move on. And plant a rose bush beside my headstone." Obviously I wouldn't/couldn't euthanize/murder my mother, regardless of her state, but her wishes of not being kept alive artificially beyond all reasonable chance of regaining function are clear and consistent. And yes, she does have a living will that removes any doubt.

My family has a dark sense of humour, but it is how we deal with it. It may seem odd and insensitive to many, but equally as odd would be for my family to sit around and have a conversation that starts "so, in the event of an unrecoverable vegetative state..."

My wife and I recently got wills (at 33, and primarily because we had a baby on the way) and we ensured that we included a living will and we both know our own personal positions on it. The last thing that I want is any bitching and moaning among family members if such an event should occur, and I don't think that it is fair to have my wife and son come to the hospital for obligatory visits to daddy and his breathing machine for potentially decades. If I can't survive on my own after a reasonable amount of time, and the prognosis is that I'm not likely to improve, everyone's just got to move on and get on with the rest of their lives.

That's obviously more of a general statement than a response to you - I simply quoted your post to get started.